


Going With The Flow

by Grey_Noelle



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Depression, Effin slow burn, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gay, Grillby x Character, Magic, Multiple Authors, Not sure if there will be smut, OC, Slow Burn, def gonna be a lot of that, gonna be a lot of nerd stuff, hehe, human with magic, my writing sucks so, sans x reader, sans/reader - Freeform, science shit, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-06-02 00:17:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 31,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6542614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grey_Noelle/pseuds/Grey_Noelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk was the only one who ever showed up. Reset after reset. Genocide after genocide. </p><p>That is until one day Sans found you instead. </p><p>You're life had been monotonous and falling into the Underground was an accident, but for Sans it was a miracle. He'll do anything to keep Frisk from coming back. He'll do anything to keep YOU here.</p><p>But, there's something else.<br/>Someone else fell too.<br/>You're new, yes, but two humans falling into the underground at once? ...that was supposed to be impossible.</p><p>You and Sans are unsure about this other human, but one thing is clear.</p><p>He just wasn't ready for the responsibility.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Into the Unexpected

_It’s cold. Too cold._

You shift your weight, the blankets under you twisting and making your position in bed even more uncomfortable. In the distance an alarm starts to ring, an annoying and piercing sound against the silence of your room. A light tapping noise joins in with the ringing and you realize that you had left the window open all night. The blinds are rustling from the wind and a chill settles over you. “Urrrrrrrrggggghh.” A groan escapes your lips as you reach across your pillow for your phone, the source of the irritating beeping.

 

 

  **6:30 am**

 

 

Time to get up. Another groan rumbles in your throat and you force yourself to push the blankets off of you, a shudder shaking your body when you realize the window is still open. “Why the fuck has it been so cold lately?” You grumbled as you latched the window shut. You tend to be a grumpy person in the morning, so much so that even the weather is pissing you off.

Opening your phone you flip to the music app and click on one of your more energetic playlists hoping it will get you going for the rest of the day. “Maybe this will wake me up more..” There was no time for a shower and a bit of regret settled in your stomach over the fact that you hadn’t woken up earlier. _I really need to gain some willpower when it comes to waking up early._

 

**7:30 am.**

 

 

An hour later your clothes are on, hair is brushed, bed made, bag ready, and a smile is plastered to your face. The bags under your eyes are still there, but that’s a given. They’ve been there your whole life, a constant reminder and reflection of how tired you are on the inside. It used to make you nervous, the darker shade of skin and the puffiness under your eyes, how would people see you? You were always afraid that the tired and dull look would hint people in on how you really felt, regardless of whatever fake smile you plastered on each day.

On your way out the door you looked in the mirror, a tired and pale face looked back, but it was still you.

 

**12:00 pm**

 

 

Work was long, and you weren’t too excited when the most energetic girl in the office came over to ask if you wanted to go hiking with her and some other co-workers this weekend. You couldn’t afford to ruin your “happy-go-lucky” reputation now… so as usual, you agreed. The moment you had said, “sure!” you regretted it.

 

**10:00 pm**

 

 

It had been a long drive home and your back ached from leaning over your desk all day. _I need to get out of this fucking cycle._ This thought came to you every day when you’d arrive home from work. You pulled out your keys unlocking the door. As you stepped into the dark house a ding! came from your pocket. The glow of your phone shone through your jacket and you pulled it out, reading the text that you’d received only seconds before. “Hey, ___! Since you’re coming on the hiking trip with us tomorrow we decided to fill you in on the details! We’ll be meeting at the ranger station midway on the mountain, the address is 526 Mt.Ebott Park Station,” An audible groan escaped your lips when you realized you’d have to drive there yourself. “If you follow the highway you’ll get there in no time! Make sure to bring some snacks and a water bottle! ;) can’t wait to see u there!! –Chasey” Dread filled your chest as your realized the text said “tomorrow.” “Holy shit, IT’S FRIDAY???” You hadn’t meant to shout so loud and silently apologized to your neighbors. It was 10 pm and you were late. You dialed her number.  ….   ….. …… *dial tone*

A sigh escaped your lips. You should have known it wouldn’t work, why would she want to speak to you after what had happened? “Damn it…”

 

You had locked your door, eaten your microwave dinner, set an alarm for your usual time, showered, and changed into pajamas. “ _It’s time for sleep, ____.”_ You thought to yourself, but of course, when had that ever worked?

 

 

**4:00 am**

 

You’d been on your phone for hours now, waiting for exhaustion to overcome you, watching YouTube and reading new Creepypastas. Insomnia had accompanied you since childhood and you had never understood why, that is until you were diagnosed with depression. You remember the confusion you had felt, depression? What did that even mean? You also remember the sad look in your mother’s eye, what could a five year old even be sad over? She had told you once that she thought it was her fault, for having abandoned you the first two years of your life, leaving you alone with an abusive father and old grandmother. Remembering your past always made you even more depressed, it was as if you were sad about the fact that you felt sad. It made you feel even more pathetic. You were drifting in and out of sleep, as exhaustion overcame you the only thing you remember feeling is the cold wet tears on your cheeks and the soft light of your phone.

 

 

**9:30 am**

 

You woke with a start and sat up quickly. What time was it!? Why hadn’t your alarm gone off??? Oh no OH NO.

You picked up your phone, clicking the on button only to be greeted with a black screen. It was dead. You had fallen asleep before plugging it in and so the alarm didn’t go off. You plugged it in instantly, and washed your face off in the bathroom sink as you waited for it to power back up. You were nervous, how late were you? Would they be mad?

You bit your lip and picked up the now charged phone. You had 20 unread texts. Oh god.

A barrage of – _where are you’_ s?? – and missed calls filled the screen. As fast as your fingers would allow you typed out a text; “Alarm didn’t go off. Heading there now, **SO SORRY!”**

 

You were already dressed by the time you had a response.

“We’re already further up the mountain. Call us when you get here, we’ll wait at the top ranger station.”

 

20 minutes later and you were on a hiking trail, speedily trekking up the mountain pathway and trying to reach the top ranger station. 10 minutes in and you reached a fork in the road. “What the hell? Which one do I take?” You picked up your phone only to see that you had no service. “Great..so I can’t ask them for help..” No signs were within sight so you decided to follow your gut instinct. Left is a good direction right? You went left.

 

**11:30 am**

 

You reached the end of the path, and were surrounded by trees. “Left is NOT a good direction.” You growled irritably. Maybe a bush was covering the rest of the path? You tried to look over the dense plants but couldn’t see properly, maybe if you just went for it…it would work out? What’s the worst that could happen? You put your foot forward confidently and stepped down hard, but there was nothing there.

Fear caught in your throat but it was too late. You were falling and the rush of air was too much for your lungs, you couldn’t scream. You blacked out before you hit the bottom.

 

 

**9:00 pm**

 

Pain. Pain was all you could feel. Pulsing in your head and through your entire body. Your eyes opened slowly. It was dark.

You felt around, ”Flowers? why.. why are there flowers here?” You tried to stand but your bag was caught on something. After a few tugs you had yanked it free, your phone falling from your back pocket in the process. With anticipation you turned it on, oh thank god, the screen wasn’t cracked and it still had almost 100% charge. You turned on the flashlight and looked around. You seemed to be in some underground cave of sorts. Bright golden flowers covered the middle of the cave and you inhaled sharply. What would have happened if you hadn’t landed there? It made you feel nauseas thinking about it. There didn’t seem to be anything else of interest in the cave so you decided to move forward. There was only one exit. You took a few steps forward, realizing there was a sharp pain in your ankle, your fell to your knees. Oh god, was it broken!? You gently lifted your pant leg and heaved a sigh of relief. Slightly swollen, but nowhere near broken. Just a sprain, you could get through this.

You walked forward to the exit, your phones light illuminating your way.

“HOWDEY! IM FLOWEY!”

The shrill voice caught you off guard and you jumped, but suddenly the prospect of some one being down here excited you, this meant there was a way out…right? You used your phone to search the little hall you had entered, but couldn’t find the source of the voice. Only a single golden flower sat in front of you, maybe 5 feet away. “Okay now I’m creeped out… WHO’S THERE? CAN YOU COME OUT? I CAN’T SEEM TO FIND YOU!” You shouted into the darkness. The voice responded, sounding much closer than you’d like.

“WHY I’M RIGHT HERE, MISS!”

The flower in front of you turned slightly, revealing a small smiling face. You flinch and draw back when you see it. “w-what? How is this even possible?” “WHY I’M A FLOWER, SILLY! YOU MUST BE NEW AROUND HERE! LET ME EXPLAIN HOW THINGS WORK!” The flower just seemed to keep talking and a feeling of distrust, confusion, and fear where building up in the back of your chest. Something was wrong with this. “DOWN HERE YOU NEED EXP, TO GET EXP YOU NEED LOVE. LOVE IS SHARED THROUGH LITTLE WHITE FRIENDLINESS PELLETS! LET ME SHOW YOU HOW IT WORKS!” Small white beads appeared around the flower, circling in the air, what the fuck? How does that work? Your head was starting to hurt even more. Something started pulsing in your mind, and a glowing heart raised in front of your chest, just like a drawing. What the fuck was happening? The heart was glowing, it felt warm…was it…yours? You took a step back, the heart moved with you. “THAT’S YOUR SOUL! USE IT TO CATCH THE PELLETS! THAT’S HOW YOU’LL GAIN LOVE!” The white pellets that were around the flower suddenly started to move towards you. Something inside, be it intuition or distrust, caused you to move out of the way. The look on his face told you that you were right to move. Annoyance flickered across his features and his tone changed slightly, “HEH, COME ON, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? RUN. INTO. THE. **_BULLETS!!_** _I MEAN UH- FRIENDLINESS PELLETS!”_ The white specks appeared around the flower once more and this time you knew for sure that you should be getting away. The beads dove straight for your heart and you ran out of the way, the pain in your ankle slowing you down. Once out of the way, you stopped. You looked back, fear driving into your heart. The flower’s face was so distorted and filled with rage that you couldn’t help but want to scream and run. “ _You…”_ The flower’s voice was sinister and foreboding. “ _You know what’s happening, don’t you? You just wanted to see me suffer.”_ A ring of pellets surrounded you and the heart that was outside your chest. You started to panic. “P-PLEASE, SOMEBODY HELP!!” The flower began to laugh maniacally. **_“DIE.”_** You shut your eyes waiting for the pellets to hit you, but nothing happened. You blinked as a ball of fire flew past, running into the dazed Flowey. He flew back, and disappeared. Within moments a woman appeared, or well? Was she a woman? You weren’t quite sure. Huge, around 7 ft. tall and towering above you was well.. a monster. She was covered in white hair with two long ears drooping past her goat like face, and she wore a purple gown with a strange symbol on it. Concern filled her voice as she looked you up and down.

“What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel. Caretaker of these ruins. I pass through every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs!”

You stood there, mouth agape, unsure of what to say. How could this be happening? Especially to you??? Before you had time to react, the monster was holding your hand in a warm and somewhat comforting grip and was pulling you gently into the darkness of the ruins.

 

 


	2. A Puzzling Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're in the ruins with Toriel, but she seems to be hiding something. What is it? And why does she seem so apprehensive when you ask her about the way out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I banged it out really fast and didn't have time to make many edits so sorry about whatever errors are in here. I'll probably be writing another chapter tonight though, so this won't be the only one I'm posting today. We finally get to meet sans, even if it's only for a brief moment :')   
> And Goat Mom :'(   
> gotta love Toriel, such a sweetie.

The Ruins are big, much bigger than you were expecting. 

Toriel has been extremely kind to you thus far and you had even been open enough to share your name and age, but you still don't trust her fully.

 

After all, she's a monster...right?

 

 

 

You hadn't been expecting this. The underground was filled with puzzles and as Toriel guided you through them one by one you couldn't help but think to yourself,  _What a PUZZLING experience._ You chuckled at the pun under your breath and Toriel glanced at you, a soft smile on her face. About three rooms in she stopped you to talk.

 

"My child, in the Underground you will be encountering monsters, some of which will not be kind. When this happens you will enter a battle with them, a confrontation of sorts. Please, my child, use mercy. Spare the monsters, talk to them, try to befriend them...at least until I can intervene. Here... try on this dummy."

 

You felt slightly confused. Toriel was worried about  _YOU_ hurting the monsters? Why? I mean yeah sure, you had brought a pocket knife along with you for the hike, but that was safely tucked away in your bag and you had no desire or need to hurt anyone, monster or not. Regardless, you did as she told. 

You approached the dummy. Unsure of what to do you looked back at Toriel, you could practically feel the beads of sweat on your forehead. This was so awkward oh my god. Despite the tension surrounding you, Toriel only gave you a kind smile and beckoned you forward, she wanted you to speak to the doll.

 

You stared at the figure for a while, neither of you moving. What did you expect though? It was a dummy, it wasn't real so of course it wouldn't move. 

You rocked slightly on your heels, "So...um...it's nice to...uh..meet you??" You sputtered out the question, unsure if it was even directed at the dummy since it couldn't hear you. It didn't seem much for conversation, but Toriel seemed pleased. 

 

"Very good, my child! Alright, now that that's out of the way we can continue on!"

 

* * *

 

 

You and Toriel had continued forward for a few more rooms, a soft silence settling between the two of you.  _Should I say something?_ You thought. However, before you had a chance to speak, she did.

 

"My child, I am deeply sorry for this but I need to leave you for a few hours. I have some business that I must attend to and I am afraid I cannot take you with me." Wow, she legitimately seemed upset about having to have to leave you, concern was furrowing her brows and a light frown was settled on her mouth. Not too long after her announcement though, she perked up. "Why I know! Do you have a cell phone? We could trade numbers!"

 

You hesitated at the idea, a barrage of questions invading your mind.  _Will my phone even work down here? If it does can't I just call for someone to come help? What if she's actually bad and does something to me? How do monsters under a mountain even have phones??_

Toriel seemed to sense your hesitation, "Well...um.. only if it's alright with you that is." 

 

Oh god, she was being so nice. Ughhh okay, okay, just go with it. It's just a number, what's the worst that could happen? 

 

You let out a soft sigh and handed Toriel your phone, she seemed a bit confused at first, but her phone was ancient so it was understandable. 

 

Within two minutes you were both contacts in one another's phones, and Toriel had taken a selfie so that you'd have a contact photo of her in case she called.

In all honesty it was kind of cute and funny to watch. This motherly giant goat woman towering over your phone and trying to take a cute picture of herself for you. It was sweet and in a way, reminded you of the time your mom had done it.

 

Toriel left with a swift goodbye and once she was gone an unsettling silence fell over you. Even though you had only been with her for an hour or two she had really made an impact on you. You kinda wished that you still had her around to keep you company, but she was going to come back...right?

 

* * *

 

 

It had been an hour since Toriel had left you to your own devices and even though she had asked you to stay where she left you, you couldn't help but get curious. You had wandered the ruins a bit, solving a few more puzzles here and there. You decided the silence of the ruins was too much though, so you had pulled your headphones out of your bag and plugged them in. Even without internet or service your music still played. It was a nice feature. You hummed your way through puzzles and traps, the guitar solo in your ear calming you down a bit and relieving some of your previously held anxiety. Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all, Toriel was kind and the puzzles didn't seem like they were meant to hurt anyone, just slow people down a bit. Perhaps Flowey was just a case of bad luck, not all monsters were bad right?

 

As you continued your journey through the ruins you encountered a few different monsters here and there, all of which you befriended and spared, just like Toriel had asked of you. Whimsum and Froggit, along with some kind of carrot monster were all you had encountered though. 

 

_I must be nearing the end of the puzzles_ , you thought to yourself. A longer hall stretched out, one path leading to a balcony. You decided to follow it and as you stepped out onto the ledge you inhaled deeply. The air down here seemed a bit musty, maybe even artificial, but there was something sweet and welcoming about it. The view from the balcony is what really got you though. Somehow, someway, there was a city before you. Bright and beautiful, the lights flashing in the darkness and illuminating the huge mass that was the underground. How was any of this even possible? You couldn't help but wonder why you had never heard of this before, especially since there were monsters down here. Maybe you had died on that fall down after all?

A concerned voice shocked you out of your daydreaming. "____? Oh my dear! How did you get here? Are you hurt? Oh my god I knew I shouldn't have left you!!" 

Toriel rushed over to you, the worry in her voice and on her face apparent. She was holding your shoulders looking you up and down, searching for any injuries.

 

The worry she had for you made you blush, why was she being so kind? You were flattered and unsure of what to do, "I-I'm okay... really. Sorry that I didn't wait..I got curious." 

She let out a sigh of relief, "Oh my child, it is okay. I am just glad that you are safe. Oh! By the way! I forgot to call you to ask, but which do you prefer, cinnamon or butterscotch?" The sudden question threw you off guard but you were glad for the tension release. "I like both actually, is that okay? I'm really bad at picking favorites.."

Toriel beamed, "Even better! I have baked you a cinnamon butterscotch pie to celebrate your arrival! Come! I will show you to my home." She seriously baked you a pie? Oh my god, this lady was so nice, where had she been all your life? You followed merrily behind her, your stomach growling and telling you just how hungry you were. The fall had really distracted you from how hungry you had been.

 

* * *

 

 

Toriel's home was nice and cozy. A small cottage type of home, nestled nicely in the depths of the ruins. Something about the cute old home filled you with determination, and the strong smell of pie comforted you even more as you entered the door. "The pie is still cooling down, so before we eat I'd like to show you around." Toriel took your hand once again and guided you down a hallway on the right side of the home. She stopped at the first door in the hallway. "This will be your room, my child."  _Wait, YOUR room? How long would you be staying here?_ You started to get nervous, and Toriel noticed. "Is something wrong?" 

"I..I um wasn't aware that I would be staying here long enough to be needing a room. You've been very kind to me so far, but...I really need to get back home. I have a job and," the word caught in your throat, "friends." 

You watched as a wave of emotion flickered over Toriel's face. Confusion, sadness, disappointment, but worst of all, annoyance. The last one made you flinch, was she going to turn out like Flowey if you didn't give her what she wanted?

But no, she quickly recovered and smiled at you, "Well...we can talk about that more in the morning. It is late and far too dangerous to be out in the ruins or underground alone, at least stay the night." She was hiding something, but fear and distrust made you say okay.

You went into the room, expecting only to lie down and wait for the pie, but you ended up drifting to sleep. The exhaustion from this strange day overcoming you. You woke up sometime in the night, or maybe it was morning? You weren't sure, there wasn't much light in the underground.

You stretched in the small bed, a slight pain in your ankle as you did so. The swelling in the sprain had gone down, but it still hurt. You groaned and stepped out of the bed, only to notice a plate with a slice of pie on the floor. You smiled, even if you didn't trust her much and she was hiding something, this monster was still super kind. 

 

You took the pie with you and picked your bag up off of the floor where you had set it down the previous night. Stepping into the living room you noticed Toriel, she was sitting in a rocking chair reading a book about snails.  _How snailtacular,_ you thought, grimacing but chuckling at the terrible pun. Toriel heard you and looked up. "Why good morning, my child! I trust you slept well?" The kindness in her voice made you forget your goal, if only for a second. You were about to start a happy conversation, but the words stuck in your throat and you realized that to get out of here you needed  to be firm. "How do I exit the ruins?" was all that you said.

The look on her face darkened. 

"Why look here! 72 facts on snails! Would you like me to read them to you?" She tried to avoid the question. 

You asked again, "How do I get out of here to go home?"

She stood up briskly. "Excuse me a moment child, I have something I need to take care of." 

 

She walked off leaving a nervous and stressful air in the room. You decided to follow.

 

As you entered the next room you caught a glance of her heading down the stairs that had previously been blocked off. They only went down.  _What's down there??_

 

You followed quickly, trying to catch up to her. The stairs led to a dark corridor, and you tried following it in search of her. You heard her voice a ways ahead of you, she knew you were following. "Foolish child, why can't you just stay here? If you go up there...they..no, _**ASGORE**_ , will kill you. Down here you would be safe, I could teach you, raise you... please...don't do this." The nervous feeling in your stomach grew larger, who was Asgore? Did this mean that the monsters outside of the ruins were meaner than Toriel? Were they like..*gulp* Flowey?

 

Something inside of you told you to stay determined. 

 

You continued to follow her. "I'm going to destroy the exit, so no human can ever get out or injured again." 

You realized you needed to hurry. You started running down the corridor, trying to catch up to her, and finally, you met with her at the end, a huge door looming over both of you. You realized the same symbol on her dress was also adorning the door.  _aDOORning the door. hehe._ You couldn't help it, even though you realized now was not the time to be making puns. 

Toriel was looking down, not at you. "Toriel..please. I need to get out." You were begging now, trying to avoid fighting, the worst possible outcome. 

"Then prove to me that you can survive out there!" 

The room seemed to get darker, and once again the heart rose from your chest. Oh god, she was going to fight. 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Huge orbs of fire started to light up in the room, raining down from the ceiling. It took everything in your power to keep dodging. You didn't want to fight her. You shouted, trying to calm her down, convince her that you would be okay, that she didn't need to fight you. 

An orb hit your left leg. You screamed as your flesh sizzled and burned under the heat. You cried out as you fell, reaching to hold your leg, but refusing to touch the skin that was still burning. Tears started streaming down your face and you looked at her, pain in your eyes. She froze for a moment, only to look back at the ground. She continued to fight, her eyes hidden, but this time the fire seemed as though it was avoiding you. Suddenly, it hit you. She wasn't trying to kill you, you had been foolish to distrust her, she was only trying to scare you off. You sucked in air sharply, using your good leg to pull you up off the ground. You limped forward, the flames still avoiding you. Toriel finally looked up. There were tears in her eyes, "Please...fight back..." She could barely speak. 

You kept watching her, determination in your heart and soul as you limped forward until you were an inch away from her. Fear started to fill her features and you realized she thought you would hurt her, but instead you removed your arms from your leg, and hugged her. You held her like that as the flames faded away and the two of you started to collapse onto the ground. You held each other for a while, crying into one another's shoulders. "I'm so sorry...I just didn't want you to get hurt out there..my own insecurities and selfishness...oh god...I'm so sorry I hurt you.." You could feel her sincerity and before you could stop yourself, you accepted her apology, hugging her tighter. 

* * *

 

 

After your fight Toriel had decided to let you go, you certainly seemed capable of handling yourself, was all she said. She decided that before you left however, you should take some provisions with you. You had already had your pocket knife, but you decided you wouldn't be needing it and left it in her kitchen. For the hiking trip you had packed extra pants, a beanie, and a long sleeved shirt in your bag in case it got cold. You already had your sweater on when Toriel had found you. You changed into your track pants, they were surprisingly warm and since Toriel had warned you that it would be cold you knew you'd be needing some layers. Under your sweater you put on the long sleeved shirt, simple and black like your pants. The beanie you had was cute and funny, you hadn't actually planned to wear it around your co-workers, maybe just on the ride home. It was a frog hat, nicely knitted and lined with fleece on the inside for warmth. It had the two ropes that hung down on the side with little tassels, so it covered you ears. It was perfect, Toriel giggled when you put it on, saying it reminded her of Froggit. She packed you a few extra snacks in your bag, along with a blue jacket that she said had belonged to one of the humans who had come through. You didn't ask about the other humans much, the jacket was  bit big, but it was comfortable.

 

As you and Toriel said your goodbyes, you couldn't help but feel sad. She had been so kind to you. How could you have ever been distrustful of her? She had even been kind enough to use her magic and food to heal the wounds from your battle and fall. You had never felt better, though those bags were still under your eyes. 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The door at the end of the corridor creaked open and a chill breeze ran along the skin on your neck. Wow. She wasn't kidding when she said it would be cold. 

You pressed forward, determined to find your way home. There was snow everywhere, and trees lining the road from the ruins door. The crunch and quietness of your surroundings made you uncomfortable again, so you plugged in your earbuds, hoping the music would drown out any anxiety you had. Electronic music seemed like the right fit to clear up any uncertainties. A strong beat started playing and you couldn't help but bob your head and put a little jump into your step as you walked to the beat. There was no one around, and you weren't nervous anymore, so what was the harm in dancing a little? 

You swayed a little more as you continued through the snow covered path. The music was turned up loud, so when you avoided a branch on the path you didn't hear it snap as you continued on. For the next twenty minutes you followed the path, each song getting more and more funky, and you, dancing more and more with each one. You reached a bridge with some strange poles on it, and couldn't help but stop in the middle to jam out, your head bobbing and hips twisting. You spun around quickly, singing out loud to the song, when through your headphones you heard it.

 

 

**_"_ ** **_AHEM"_ **

 

****

 

_Oh no_

 

You froze, your hand pulling your headphones out of your ears in a rush. Someone had seen you? They had HEARD YOU!??

You could feel the heat in your face rising, suspecting that now you looked like some frightened dancing tomato. 

 

Someone tapped you on the shoulder and you jumped. A skeleton, maybe 4 or 5 inches taller than you stood behind you. You turned and were suddenly VERY afraid.

"I-I! Oh god! P-Please don't hurt me!" You were backing up fast and the skeleton looked confused. Toriel had told you to be wary of the monsters out here, so you were even more distrusting than before. 

"Woah, calm down kiddo, I'm not gonna hurt you. Is this how you greet a new pal?" The skeleton's voice was low, scratchy,  and had a lazy but caring tone to it. A lazy smile filled his face and you couldn't help but start giggling, any sense of fear you previously had gone away.

"Oh man," you sighed, "You really SPOOKED me there!" The skeleton's face lit up with a look of pleasant surprise. "Honestly man, there were a skele-TON of ways to have said hello without scaring me!" 

The skeleton started laughing. Something about his laugh made you blush. 

"Aw man kid, I can already tell we're gonna be CHILL together." His pun on the snow around you made you snort. He looked pleased. 

His hand was still out, waiting for you to shake it. You stepped forward and took hold, a loud fart noise erupting before you could introduce yourself. 

You both broke out in another round of laughter. "OH MY GOD HAHAHA, YOU'RE HILARIOUS! I LOVE IT!" 

The skeleton's face seemed to turn a bright shade of blue at that comment, was he blushing? You ignored it, suspecting it was a trick of the light. 

"I uh..haha.." you were still recovering from your laughing fit, "I'm _____, it's a pleasure to meet you. What's your name?"

 

The blue tinge was still on his face, just a little softer, and he spoke.

 

"Sans, the name is Sans."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had fun writing this one, and I'm excited to write the next chapter later. Let me know if you guys like it or have any suggestions about anything! I'm totally open to ideas! Thanks :)


	3. Endless Pastabilities and Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SPAGHETTI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus is in the house.
> 
> Not sure what was supposed to happen in this chapter. I wrote it pretty lazily, just like how I do everything else. I'm too tired to edit, so if there are errors, sorry. If I ever get motivation I'll probably go back and edit these chapters, but for now they are crappy and riddled with punctuation and grammar problems. I didn't have much time to write this one so it was short, but I hope it was a little more fun since Papyrus joined. If you like it then it would mean a lot if you let me know, but it's up to you, no pressure or anything buddy. ;) see you around

Sans was staring at you and smiling, and you couldn't help but smile back. 

He seemed nice. There was an obvious air of laziness about him that you could really connect with, but there was also something else too. You got the same feeling from him as you did with Toriel, he's hiding something.

 

You started to think back though, Toriel had only hidden from you the fact that she didn't want you to leave, and in the end it all ended up being her concern for your safety. For a second you thought that Sans might have something similar to hide, but something inside told you it wasn't your safety he was concerned about. He reminded you of those darker anime and cartoon characters. The ones who were always quiet or trustworthy and in the end would betray their best friend or the main character. You reminded yourself not to be too open with him. 

 

He broke the silence. "Well, kiddo, I was under pretty strict orders to capture you, but I'm not really a capturing type of guy. Now my brother, he's a human hunting FANATIC, but he's a big sweet heart so between you and me, I don't think he could ever capture ya, let alone hurt ya." 

The calm and subtle tone in his voice soothed you a bit and you scolded yourself, trying to remember not to fully trust him yet. 

 

"Why look! I think that's him now, come with me, I'll hide you." Before you have time to say no, you're following Sans past the bridge into the next clearing. A lamp shaped like a small child is in the middle of the snow, but you don't fit behind it. You dive for the sentry station that's next to it instead. To your surprise there was ketchup, mustard, relish, and hot dog buns behind the counter. You could hear a loud voice shouting at Sans. It seemed condescending but filled with love. Despite the conversation going on behind the sentry station you could help but picture Sans sitting at the desk, cracking puns and selling hot dogs in the freezing cold. You giggled, and the conversation between Sans and his brother stopped instantly. Oh no. They had heard you. 

* * *

 

You went silent, hoping that perhaps the louder skeleton would ignore it, or that he would think it was something in the woods. No luck. You heard the snow crunching under foot as the skeleton approached your hiding place. You could feel your heart beating in your chest, pounding in your ear drums, and flushing your cheeks. You were scared and your adrenaline was doing a good job of showing it. You tried to curl your body up a bit tighter, hoping that if you shrunk yourself down a little bit the cupboard holding the condiments would cover you and hide you from sight. Once again, no such luck. 

The skeleton peered over the edge, his eye sockets dark and void. What was he thinking right now? Could he even see you? It was hard to tell where he was looking since he didn't have eyes. 

"NYEH HEH HEH HEH! FROGGIT! WHY ARE YOU LISTENING IN ON OUR CONVERSATION AND LAUGHING? COME OUT FROM THERE PLEASE, WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS QUITE RUDE!" 

 

You paused, confused.  _Froggit??? Why does he think I'm a Froggit?_ And then you remembered, the hat. Toriel had laughed at you saying it made you look like a froggit. Before you had been a bit embarrassed, but now you were starting to be grateful.  _I guess I look like a monster then...thank god._

You let out a small sigh of relief, but Sans' brother didn't seem to notice. Good, you didn't need him asking even more questions.

You stood up slowly, cautiously, and glanced at Sans. Your fear started to dissipate when you realized he was about to burst out into laughter, he already looked like he was on the verge of tears. Slight annoyance grew in your throat at the fact that he found your fear funny. Oh well, you'd get him back later, show him who he can laugh at. 

 

Now that you were standing at your full height Sans' brother looked confused. "I UH I'VE NEVER SEEN A FROGGIT QUITE SO BIG AS YOU. DEAR FROGGIT, WOULD YOU MIND TELLING ME HOW YOU CAME TO BE SO LARGE?" 

 

You started to panic, what the hell were you supposed to say!? 

 

You blurted out the first thing that came to mind,

 

"MY UH, MY MOM FED ME A LOT OF SPAGHETTI AS A KID! IT HELPED ME GROW UP REALLY LARGE!" 

_SPAGHETTI? SERIOUSLY? THIS IS WHAT I CAN COME UP WITH?_

 

You prepare for yourself to get murdered by the large skeleton, only to look up and find him smiling from cheekbone to cheekbone. You would have said ear to ear but...he doesn't really have any of those. 

 

Is this guy for real right now?

 

You glanced at Sans again, he was about to burst. You glanced back at his brother.

 

"FROGGIT!!! I AM SO HAPPY TO FIND SOMEONE WHO APPRECIATES SPAGHETTI AS MUCH AS I DO!!! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND THIS IS MY BROTHER SANS! SPAGHETTI IS MY BEST DISH!" You heard Sans giggled out softly, "it's your only dish, bro," but Papyrus continued. 

"PLEASE, COME WITH MY BROTHER AND ME! I MADE SOME FOR DINNER, I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU JOINED US FOR OUR MEAL!" 

 

Your stomach grumbled at the sound of food, but you were uncertain about whether or not you should accept this strange skeletons offer. You looked at Sans again, he was on his hands and knees trying to hold in the laughter. You giggled a little at how ridiculous he looked, but froze when Papyrus thought you were accepting his offer. 

 

Before you could react you were swung up over his shoulders and being run with at an extremely uncomfortable speed. How were skeletons able to run this fast? You thought they were all bone! 

You manage to lift your head up slightly, and watch the snow and forest go whizzing by. The rush from Papyrus' speed and the bobbing from being on his back started to make you nauseous. You squinted, and watched as Sans faded into the distance, your vision going black. 

* * *

 

"FROGGIT!! WAKE UP!! ARE YOU OKAY? YOU SEEM TO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP!""

 

There's a loud obnoxious voice shouting at you and calling you Froggit. You wake with a start, dazed and blinded by the light above you.

 A skeleton in a red scarf and some kind of weird two piece armor is standing over you with a concerned look. The events of the past hour come flooding back and you groaned as you sat up. Papyrus ran so fast that you ended up nauseous to the point where you just blacked out. Jeezus, this seemed to happen to you a lot lately, why were you turning into such a weenie? 

 

Papyrus was still looking at you and shouting, "Papyrus, look, I'm fine. I was just a bit startled from being picked up, that's all!" 

The skeleton seemed to relax a little bit at this. "OH, GOOD, FOR A SECOND THERE I THOUGHT I HAD KILLED YOU, BUT YOU DIDNT TURN TO DUST SO I ASSUMED YOU WOULD BE OKAY!" You ignored him, confused about this "dust" thing and looked at your surroundings. 

 

You were in a decent sized living room, lying on a soft couch with a large tv in front of you. Wait? TV? How do they have TV down here? You shook the thought out of your head, probably best not to question it, these are monsters after all.

The rest of the room was filled with small regular things, a coffee table, a small stand, a sock with a stack of post-it notes on it...wait. A sock with a stack of post-it notes on it? That's not normal. You glanced at the pile of sticky notes, curious as to what they said. Papyrus followed your gaze only to let out a a sigh and exasperated explanation, "MY BROTHER DOES NOT SEEM TO KNOW HOW TO CLEAN UP. WE HAVE BEEN ARGUING ABOUT IT VIA STICKY NOTE!" 

You giggled at this, and heard a chuckle respond. Sans was at the far left of the room, leaning against the stairs to the top floor. He was looking at you with the small white pinpricks that you were assumed where his pupils. You started to wonder why Papyrus didn't have those, but one again dismissed the thought. There was no use trying to understand it all, they were monsters and you were a human.

Oh shit. That's right. These guys are monsters. Not only that but they're supposed to be hunting humans. You started to sweat nervously. You knew Sans was mostly cool, but the only reason you could be sure of as to why Papyrus had not yet murdered you was the fact that your hat made you look like a giant Froggit.  

 

You sat up slowly, you right hand on your head, making sure your hat was still in place. Papyrus had wandered off towards what you assumed was the kitchen, but Sans was still leaning on the stares, staring.

You don't know why, but his constant looking at you made you blush, and you looked away, hoping he hadn't noticed. From the kitchen you heard a yell, "THE SPAGHETTI WILL BE DONE IN TEN MINUTES!" You looked back at the stairway, but Sans wasn't there. Had he gone up to his room? You looked around nervously, no sign of him anywhere. 

 

 

....Had he really been able to slip away that fast?

 

 

"Boo." 

The scratchy voice was hot against your neck and you whipped your ahead around quickly. Sans was standing behind you on the couch, rolling with laughter.

"HAHAHA, YOU SHOULDA SEEN YOUR FACE KID!!" 

You scowled at him, slightly annoyed. Your face was bright red again but this time it was from embarrassment. You glared him down, "Was that really necessary?" You asked.

 

"Yes," he let go of the rest of his giggles just to continue on, "I felt it was necessary from the very bottom of my heart." You cringed, "But you don't have a heart...?" 

 

He looked at you and winked, "Exactly, sweetheart." 

You blushed at the nickname but didn't say anything further. His joke confused you and you didn't know what else to say. Luckily Papyrus broke the tension by calling you both to dinner. 

 

You slid off of the couch, head still aching from your fast ride with Papyrus. You sat at the table across from Sans. 

Turning your head to Papyrus, you smiled, "Thank you for inviting me to dinner, Papyrus!" 

"WHY IT IS NO PROBLEM AT ALL, FROGGIT!" Papyrus paused, "EXCUSE ME, MS.FROGGIT, DO YOU HAVE A NAME BESIDES, WELL, FROGGIT? THERE ARE MANY FROGGITS YOU SEE, SO JUST TO MAKE SURE I'M NOT OFFENDING..." He trailed off. 

You smiled assuredly at him, you wanted to stay on this skeleton's good side. "My name is _____." You told him.

"_______! WHAT A DELIGHTFUL NAME!" Papyrus shouted the compliment before serving you and Sans your meals and then joining you both at the table. 

 

 

The food looked decent enough, and it smelled fine.

 

You dipped your fork into the pasta and twisted, wrapping the noodles around the utensil and brought it up to your mouth, but before you ate the bite you noticed Sans staring at you. "What? Why do you keeping staring?" You huffed out. 

He had a sly smile spread across his cheeks.

You shook your head annoyed and as you put the pasta in your mouth you heard Sans say in a low voice, 

 

**"You're gonna have a bad time, kiddo"**

* * *

 

 

 

It took you the rest of the night to get the taste out of your mouth, and Sans let you sleep on their couch because your stomach ache was so bad.

_That fucker wasn't joking about having a bad time, huh?_

You wrote a note on your phone reminding you to never eat Papyrus' cooking again.

 

You fell asleep, still nauseous and in pain, hoping that it would be gone tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any idea of what I should write for the next chapter lemme know cause right now I'm kinda unsure of what to write, thx


	4. Be Sansible About It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You don't trust Sansy very much

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted this chapter to be wayyyy longer, but I'm super duper sick so I had to stop. I've sneezed on my computer enough, it needs a break. I'll write more tomorrow if my fever goes away. Thanks everyone!

It had been two days since you had first gone to the skeleton brothers house. When Papyrus had learned you didn't have a place to stay he insisted you crash on their couch until you had a home of your own, or their guest bedroom was ready. 

From what you could tell the brothers didn't have a guest bedroom, just an old office with some blueprints in it, but you assumed Papyrus wanted to clear it out and turn it into a bedroom. Sans had also been acting strange around you and you weren't sure what it was. You would catch him staring at you occasionally, only for him to look away quickly, a blue tinge adorning his features. Other times he seemed totally uninterested and distant, like he was avoiding you. You barely knew the skeleton, so the fact that you were getting stressed about it annoyed you slightly. What was his problem?  _Whatever, I'll be getting out of here soon anyway._  

You had decided to only stay one more day. Keeping on the frog hat was getting to be a pain. Every time Papyrus was around you needed to make sure it was on, and you were constantly coming up with excuses for why you looked the way you did. Luckily he didn't seem to be the smartest, so he wasn't catching on. Sans hadn't said anything either so you were grateful for that, but why was he looking out for you? You didn't want to think about it, you had more important things to focus on, like getting out of this monster infested cave.

 

You had spent your two days in the small town of Snowdin (you had laughed at the name for a while when you first heard it) collecting information about what to expect when trying to get out of the underground. The towns only shopkeeper, a cute bunny woman, had told you about a woman soldier named 'Undyne' and her mission to capture a human and their soul. You didn't want to pry too much, you were trying not to look suspicious so you hadn't asked much more. Another rabbit person, this time a male, had told you about Undyne's obvious attraction to the royal scientist, a monster by the name of Alphys. There seemed to be a lot of gossip surrounding the two, and so far Undyne seemed like your biggest threat. At the Librarby (for some reason it was spelled wrong??) you found books explaining the monsters past. You had spent most of your second day in there, reading through the volumes and learning as much as you could. You understood that the gist of it was that humans and monsters had a war a long time ago, monsters lost and some human mages had trapped the monsters down here with a barrier. You had a hard time believing it at first until you remembered that you were here, sitting next to a woman that looked like Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. and then you realized that the possibility of humans once having magic wasn't so strange. 

You had been texting back and forth with Toriel, hoping she could provide some insight on what you were supposed to do, but she would avoid responding whenever you asked about her past. Maybe bugging her wasn't the best idea. You decided to only text her when you really needed to. 

 

* * *

 

 

Tonight was the night you were planning to sneak out. Papyrus would be worried about you, but you didn't care too much. He would be fine, he was tough...you think. You think Sans might have noticed you acting a bit different, but if he did he hadn't said anything. You tried not to worry about it, you would be sneaking out when they were both asleep anyways. 

 

* * *

 

 

After dinner (you had insisted on cooking while you stayed) you said goodnight to the two brothers, and made your way to the couch. Sans eyed you carefully, but you avoided his gaze. Papyrus gave you a light pat on the back and sent you off, a loud, "GOODNIGHT ____! SLEEP WELL!" following you as you left the kitchen. You sat on the couch and set an alarm for 2 a.m. You would be gone before they could get through one dream. You lay down, listening to the rustling of the two brothers in the kitchen, Papyrus was washing dishes, but you couldn't tell what Sans was doing. Probably just sitting there watching his brother. You sighed long and slow, don't be stressed.  _Don't be stressed._ You kept repeating the mantra in your head. Sans walked into the living room and started walking to the stairs, pausing at the bottom to look at you and deliver one final, "Good night, kiddo." You nodded to him, pretending to be sleepier than you were. Papyrus followed his brother a few minutes later, and when you were sure that the two brothers were both upstairs in their rooms sleeping, you relaxed. You put your bag together as quietly as possible and made your way to the kitchen. You grabbed a few bottles of water, the only drink the brothers had in their fridge, and some bread. You thought about taking jam but you didn't want too many perishables. These would be good for now, you decided. You did a double check that your shoes were by the front door, and laid your sweater out on the table for you to grab as you left. It was always snowing and cold here, so this time you were gonna be prepared. With your bag packed, phone charged (you had brought a charger in your bag and luckily the underground had outlets), and an alarm set, you decided it was time for some sleep. You were gonna have a long journey so you had decided it would be good to get at least SOME rest before heading out.

 

* * *

 

 

It felt like it had only been a few minutes since you had fallen asleep, but it had been four hours. You groaned softly as you sat up, rubbing the bags under your eyes. The alarm on your phone was soft enough for you to hear it, but not enough to wake up the brothers. You turned it off and held your breath, listening to see if anyone was awake. You could hear snoring from both of the brothers rooms. Good, they were asleep. You stood up, folding the blanket that had been on you and setting it down on the table. You didn't want to write them a note, you were bad with goodbyes so you felt it would be best if you just disappeared without them needing to worry about you. You threw on your sweater, and for good measure you put the blue jacket that Toriel had given you on top of it. "Now I'll only be a  _little_ cold." You muttered to yourself softly. You threw your bag over your shoulder and put on your shoes by the front door, making sure to still be quiet so that you wouldn't wake anyone up. You put your hand on the doorknob, turning slowly and as quietly as possible. The brothers were still snoring in their room, so you weren't too worried. The door creaked open and you stepped out into the cold, the snow crunching lightly under your foot. An exhale of relief escaped your lips and the heat from your breath stained the air. It was cold, but not as bad you thought it would be. You waved a silent goodbye to the brothers and closed to door behind you. You were only three steps past the front door when you heard footsteps walking towards you. You started to panic and strained your eyes to try and see in the dark. A blue glow started to light up the area around you and the footsteps drew closer. You let out a shaky breath, your fear setting in more. A deep and familiar voice broke the silence, " **W H E R E  D O  Y O U  T H I N K  Y O U ' R E  G O I N G ,  K I D D O ?"**

 

* * *

 

 

In front of you is Sans, but his eye sockets are completely black and empty, the white light he used to have is gone.

You stepped back, confused. "B-but..? You were asleep! I made sure!" 

Sans smirks at your comment, "You're right, I slept like the  _dead_." 

You would have laughed if you weren't so scared. You had known something was off about this guy. He had seemed so secretive, why did you let your guard down? You silently scolded yourself, never letting Sans out of your gaze. 

"I'm going home, Sans. You can't stop me." 

"Sorry, bucko, but I made a promise that I would look out for you, so before this starts to look bad I would appreciate it if you went back inside the house." 

You started coming up with a plan to escape. You'd have to be smart about this, go slow ____, go slow, you told yourself. You sighed, pretending to give in. "Fine. I'll figure something else out." Sans seemed to calm down a little, but the white still hadn't returned to his eyes. You turned your back to him, taking a slow step towards the door. You could feel his stare burning into your back. You turned the doorknob and cracked the door open a bit, waving your hand and gesturing inside, "You coming?" You asked. He hesitated before taking a few steps towards you. You raised your eyebrows as if to say 'I haven't got all day.' He came closer. He was next to you now, in front of the door that you were still holding open. This was your chance. You swung the door open, widely, loudly, and violently. Just like you had hoped for, he was caught off guard. The skeleton stumbled back slightly, trying to figure out why and what you had just done. You were out the yard and running through the snow before he realized it. 

 

* * *

 

 

Panting heavily and forcing your legs to keep pushing, you ran. The snow made your legs feel heavier and the cold was making your nose and head hurt. How much longer could this area be? You were already getting tired, a nagging voice in the back of your head was reprimanding you for having never exercised when you were on the surface. You paused to take in a breath, your ribs hurt and your lungs were burning from the cold air. You tried to see through the dark, tried to figure out how much more there was for you to run, but your eyes wouldn't work. You'd just have to keep going. You slowed your pace to a jog, sure that you were far away enough from Sans now so that you wouldn't need to fully sprint. Something he had said was bothering you. He had promised someone that he would look out for you? But who? Toriel would have said something to you about him before, right? She had warned you about the bad monsters, so surely she would have mentioned the one good one. It couldn't have been her, you decided, it has to be someone else. The crunching under your feet seemed to relinquish a bit and you paused. Had you finally made it out of Snowdin? You pulled out your phone, turning on it's flashlight so that you could get a better view of your surroundings. You were DEFINITELY out of Snowdin. 

The walls around you were dark, almost purple in color, and were sparkling with some kind of blue glow. If you weren't still worried about the skeleton following you, you would have taken more time to appreciate the areas beauty. You pulled off the frog hat and shook out your hair. Finally, it felt good to let it get some air. You cringed when you thought about how bad your bedhead must be. "Gross, I need a shower." Was all you could say before entering the next room. It was empty...except for another sentry station. There was snow on top, though you weren't sure why. This place wasn't super hot, but if was significantly warmer than Snowdin had been, at least to the point where snow should have melted by now. The pebbles beneath your feet rolled slightly as you stepped closer to the station. Next to the stand was a tall blue flower. It almost looked like it was glowing, it was gorgeous. You put out your hand, reaching for the flower in awe. "Amazing..." you breathed out. "Amazing..." 

You jumped, who had said that? You looked around, searching for the source of the voice. "W-who's there?" you prompted. "W-who's there?" you heard a voice behind you repeat. You turned to face the beautiful flower, realizing that it was the source of the voice. "Holy shit, it repeats what you say?" The flower copied your words and you giggled, something about a flower saying "holy shit" made you laugh. 

"They're called echo flowers, kid." 

 

You froze. How? How had he caught up to you so fast? You turned back to the entrance on your left, the only way into the room, but no one was there. "How...?" 

 

"Behind you, sweetheart." You could never stop yourself from blushing whenever he called you that. You turned to face the sentry station which was now somehow occupied by Sans. The whites had returned to his eyes, and they seemed to focus on the blush that had risen in your cheeks. 

He let out a short sigh, "look, kid, I didn't mean to scare you earlier I just..uh.." he trailed off, his lazy smile seeming a little awkward and strained. "I just can't have you running off, ya know? When I make a promise I gotta keep it, and if you're out here away from home I can't protect you that easily." 

 _Home?_ The familiarity made you flinch. "This isn't my home, Sans. It may be yours, but mine is on the surface and I'd appreciate it if you'd let me get there." 

He looked a bit hurt, but you didn't care. He had no right to be so familiar with you, you had only known him for three days. This wasn't your home. Your left hand instinctively went to the bag under your left eye, you tugged lightly. It had become a habit to touch the dark circles, it was almost as if you were afraid to lose them, the one thing reminding you of just how broken you really are, the one thing keeping you sane. 

Sans noticed your hand rubbing under your left eye. "C'mon kid, it's late. I don't wanna have to do this, you're obviously tired." 

"Do  _what?_ " You retorted, the annoyance apparent in your voice. The lights in Sans' eyes darkened a little, making you regret your tone. "I'm not gonna ask again." Was all he said. You decided you needed to make another run for it. You had been carrying the frog hat in your hand ever since you had taken it off, and since you needed a distraction you tried to throw it. You didn't toss it until you had begun to run, and Sans was caught off guard as the knit hat smacked him directly in the face, the ropes and tassels catching in his jacket zipper and causing it to get stuck. You could hear him struggling as you ran past, but you didn't stop to look back.

 

You plan on outrunning him this time.

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Uh-oh Spaghetti-o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter right now, but I'll be posting another one tonight. (hopefully, if not then tomorrow morning) Also this is your warning for angst and violence

You were sitting in a cave, nestled into the underside of a waterfall, not far from the main road. It's been two days since you had escaped Sans, and you had noticed that your provisions were running low.  _Only one bottle of water...two slices of bread...maybe I should head back...?_ You physically shook your head, as if to force the thought away. You could do this, you just had to ration your food and drink. You had to plan this out. For this to work you'd need to be out of here within a day. You started piecing it together. You had already eaten enough for the day, so how would this work? You pulled an old napkin from your backpack and an almost dead black pen along with it. You started writing.

 

**1\. Eat half a piece of bread when you wake up. Only a couple sips of water.**

**2\. Travel main path until a monster comes along. Put on frog hat if no where to hide. Hopefully they will see you as a Froggit.**

**3\. Second half of bread for lunch.**

**4\. Hide out for a few hours under the next waterfall.**

**5\. Make it out of this area.**

**6\. ??????????????????????????**

 

You weren't sure what else to put, but this had to be enough. You huffed out a sigh, pulling off your sweater and rolling it into a pillow shape to place below your head. You wrapped the blue jacket that Toriel had given you around your body, using it as a blanket. The ground was hard and gritty, and the blue lights that littered the ceiling and floor were distracting, but if you were going to escape this area within one day you would need to get some rest. Your phone had died on the first day of your escape, but you didn't need to check it to know that it was already past midnight. You closed your eyes, regulating your breathing to slow down and relax. You willed yourself to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

 

The ground below you is breaking, splintering into thousands of tiny shards and scattering beneath your feet, you're falling. Darkness, void, the abyss. Everything that fills you with horror is encasing you. You try to shriek, to cry out, anything. 

But nobody came. 

You could feel hands wrapping around your ankles, clawing at you desperately. Two more were holding your wrist, another pair on your sides. They were steadily increasing, grabbing at your flesh in a sickening act of desire and jealousy. They didn't just want you, they wanted your soul. The pain was immeasurable and suffocating. You couldn't breath. You can't-  _You can't BREATHE._

 

* * *

 

 

You bolted upright, your stomach lurching, your chest heaving and gasping for air. _Why did I have to have the dream here?_

Your hands searched the darkness, grasping for something familiar, but this wasn't home. 

You needed to calm down. The jacket you had used as a blanket had been thrown off of you when you sat up, but you wanted it. Something about the soft blue cloth soothed you and you needed that right now. You felt around in the darkness, your hands feeling for the familiar garment, but you couldn't find it. "Ugh..." You're breath was shaky and still full of anxiety, "W-where is it?" You stared straight ahead as your hands moved around, you couldn't see anything at all, so what was the point of trying to look?

The realization stopped you. The muscles along your back and jaw tensed and a chill ran through you.  _What happened to the blue lights?_

You were scared to move, unsure of what might be in the darkness with you. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest. You were scared, no, you were more than scared. You were  _terrified._ Had Sans found you? Was this all a trick? Were you dead?

 

"Huh, looks like you're finally awake." A voice growled behind you. 

You tensed even more, not daring to move. 

 

"Hey, human, wanna tell me what the  _fuck_ it is that you're doing here?" 

It was a woman's voice, but it was low and gritty, like a well seasoned warrior's. " _oh no."_ You whimpered out.

 

" _oh YES."_

 

The lights started to flicker on, and once your eyes had adjusted your suspicions were confirmed. Through the blue haze you could see her, sitting down with her legs crossed but posture perfect. Deep blue scales, the color of the ocean's depths, covered her entire body. Her muscles rippled under them, visible with every small movement she made. Her hair was tied back into a tight ponytail, the stark scarlet red posing as an intense contrast to her navy body. There was something else, a tightly worn eye-patch covering her right eye, the end of a deep scar just visible at the bottom. Her eyes bore into you, their amber color burning you hotter than any fire ever could. 

 

_"H-hello, Undyne."_

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Through your quick and strained breaths you ran, trying to escape her. Your lungs burned and your feet were blistered, begging for you to stop, but you couldn't. You had been running for an hour now, across puddles, bridges, and freezing rivers. Hiding whenever she got near, hoping she wouldn't see you. Her finding you as you slept had been unexpected, but you had been somewhat prepared. You had thrown your sweater at her, and in a frantic rush grabbed your jacket and bag and sprinted away. You can't get her voice out of your head. You had never felt a hatred like that before, so earnest, so desperate. She wanted you dead, you could feel it in your very core. 

Something had been nagging at you as you had run though, why hadn't she just killed you in your sleep? Was she trying to be courteous, not wanting to fight someone unarmed or unaware? You couldn't help but chuckle between your strained gasps for air. A few days ago you never would have guessed that you'd be running from a samurai fish warrior in an underground monster cave. You stopped chuckling when you tripped on a rock, and cried out instead. The ankle that Toriel had healed was sprained again, and when you tried to stand up it gave out under your weight, causing you to whimper in pain. You went quiet when you heard footsteps. 

"HAHA, THOUGHT YOU COULD GET AWAY, EH PUNK? WELL GOOD LUCK RUNNING NOW" She laughed loud and maniacally. You cringed and forced yourself to put weight on your bad ankle. You could handle a fucked up ankle if it meant you survived this crazy fish woman. Your efforts were meaningless though. The only reason you had managed to get ahead of her before was because you had been running at full speed, something you couldn't do now that you'd hurt yourself. You silently cursed the rock under your breath and turned to face Undyne. Maybe you could settle this dispute without getting brutally murdered. 

You breathed in slowly, "Undyne pl-" but before your plea for a truce was spoken, a glowing blue spear pierced your middle, and you choked on your words. You coughed into your hand, only to find blood spattered across your palm. You looked at your feet and stumbled slightly, the spear squelching as you moved. The blood at your feet was pooling fast and something wet ran down your cheek. You were crying. 

You slumped to your knees, the spear giving another disgusting noise as it moved inside your body. You tried to look up at Undyne as she slowly approached you, the loud sound her footsteps made ringing in your ears. You could feel your own heartbeat grow slower as you bled out, your vision was starting to blur.  _I guess there were a lot of things in life that I never would have guessed..._  

Your vision went black, and before your mind went out too, you heard Undyne shouting. A low scratchy voice was shouting back, and for some reason the familiar sound made you smile. The last thing you were aware of was two bony arms wrapping around you, and a soft voice begging you to stay determined.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh oh, you made a whoopsie


	6. Back to the Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You died last time, so what happens now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super late to update, but I'll be getting more regular. I was in the hospital a bit cause I was sick, but I am back and will probably even post another chapter today. Sorry about the slow updates, I'll also hopefully be writing longer chapters from now on. I didn't have time to fix many errors today, so I'll probably go back and work on it later.

            The void, dark, endless, and so _so_ lonely. You feel nothing but the cold embrace of darkness, the pressure of death makes your head feel like it’ll explode.

“Where..? Where am I!?” You called out, a desperate need for help in your voice.

 

**But nobody came.**

 

 

 

Static. Like a TV stuck on the wrong channel. You had been searching for what felt like eternity, trying to escape the constant scratching noise that flooded your consciousness. Drifting endlessly into the darkness, consumed with the feeling of being hollow.

 

You’re mind started to wander, how long have you been here? 1 minute? 10 hours? 10 years? 100 years? None of it mattered, you were convinced that you would be here for eternity.

 

 

Something saved you, like a light in the dark, good amidst evil, it cracked the void and reached for you, pulling at your soul and sending you life. The static was gone.

 

 

_**“____! Don’t give up! Stay determined! Wake up!”** _

 

 

 

A light floated delicately at the end of the void, and you reached out to it. Loneliness clawed at your mind making you desperate, your one chance at escape, you had to stay determined, and you **_had_** to reach that light.

 

Your fingertips stretched out, you felt like your arm would pop out of its socket, you were trying so hard. The soft flesh of your hand finally touched, only lightly grazing the tip of the light, but it was enough. Warmth flooded your body, the voice stopped, and light began to flood the darkness. You drowned in it, it was a welcome feeling. You felt alive again.

 

 

**You woke up.**

 

 

* * *

 

 

The ceiling above you was different, and you realized that you weren’t in waterfall anymore. You sat up abruptly and instantly regretted it, a wave of nausea overcoming you.

You wretched, your body heaved over the side of the bed you had been placed in. The force of it pulling on your already sore muscles. Tears spilled down your cheeks as your body continued to convulse. Goosebumps ran along your skin and you realized you were shivering from the cold and trembling from the fear. You remembered everything, the escape from Sans, the hiding in waterfall, and the fight with Undyne. You clutched your stomach, feeling for the hole where she had stabbed you with her spear but you couldn’t find it. You lifted your shirt, thinking maybe you just couldn’t feel it. No scar, no cut. There was nothing there.

Your heaving had stopped, but the trembling hadn’t. You were soaked with sweat, but were freezing cold. You moved slightly, the sheets of the bed you were in sticking to you uncomfortably. You pulled the sheets off and tried to stand. Avoiding the contents of your stomach that were now on the floor you walked around the room. You had been here before…this was the room Toriel had let you stay in. Everything was still in place, and your bag was next to the bed (away from the vomit, luckily). How were you back here? You clearly remember Toriel having sent you away, she had locked the ruins behind her, there was no way she would have let you back in…

Heavy footsteps outside your room pulled you out of your thoughts. A few light taps came from the door before it creaked open slowly.

“…My child…? I heard some worrisome noises. Are you alright in here?”

Toriel entered the room cautiously, her gaze softening when she saw you standing in the middle of the room, but hardening as they traveled to the spot where you had been sick.

You felt your face flush, suddenly embarrassed and guilty for ruining her carpet. “I- oh my, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to… I j-just..” You trailed off trying to explain yourself, but instead were wrapped in a heavy but warm hug. Toriel’s embrace was soft and your body relaxed under her touch. Your fingers wound themselves in the fur on her back, your head buried in her chest and you cried. Your tears staining her fur and dress, warm against your cold skin. You sputtered out apologies between sobs, choking each time on your words and stuttering. She merely rubbed your back in an effort to comfort you. Her large hand stroked your head, “shhhhhh my child, do not worry about it, I am more worried about you…”

You pulled away slightly and looked up at her, “T-Tori? H-h-how did you find me?”

Her eyes opened in surprise at your question. “M-my child? How do you already know my name? We have not even introduced ourselves yet…?” She looked confused, and you stepped back, even more confused than her. “y-you don’t…?” Before you could ask why she didn’t remember you a loud banging echoed throughout the house. You both looked out your bedroom door, shocked. This was the ruins, nobody came here.

Toriel grabbed your shoulders firmly and looked you in the eyes, a seriousness you hadn’t even seen during your battle clouding them, “Stay here my child, it may not be safe to go out.” You wanted to protest, to tell her you would be okay, but she was gone before you could open your mouth. The banging still persisted throughout the house. It was coming from below you, from the ruins exit.

You poked your head out of the doorway making sure the coast was clear before heading down the hallway to the stairs in the middle of the house. Toriel must have already gone down them because she was nowhere in sight.

You went down cautiously, trying to be quiet so that she and whoever had been banging wouldn’t notice you. The banging stopped, Toriel must have reached the door.

Her voice was muffled and you strained to make out what she was saying.

“…what..? But…found….she….upstairs…” The goat monster spoke for a while, and your head started to hurt from trying so hard to listen. You took another step forward just as she stopped talking, her voice interrupted by someone else. This person was louder, but still muffled. You could make out what they were saying better. “Look…lady, she’s my friend…please. I’m worried about her. Just open the door and let me in, this is the last time I’m gonna ask, if you say no again it won’t be a pretty sight.” Toriel sighed in response and you heard the large Ruin doors creak open, an ominous sound compared to the normal silence that occupied this place. You could feel the cold from outside, even if you were far from the door. The voices were louder now, and you recognized the voice beside Toriel. It was Sans, but what was he doing here?

“Look…uh?”

“Toriel”

“Yeah uh, Toriel, look, I need to talk to her. It’s super important, you already let me in, please just let me see her.”

“I cannot do that, dear. She is under my protection and I do not yet know you. How can I be so sure that your intentions are good? How can I be sure that you aren’t trying to take her soul?”

You knew you had to intervene, but the thought of seeing Sans again scared you, why did he remember you? Toriel didn’t so…what had happened?

You had so many questions, and Sans seemed like the only one who could answer them, but did you really want to know?

You mulled over the pros and cons in your head, trying to figure out if it was worth leaving your hiding spot, the two monsters continuing their muffled argument behind you.

Realizing that Sans would see you eventually, you gave up and walked around the corner. The monsters were still bickering, and you could see each one was getting more impatient by the second. “S-Sans?” The name came out quieter and more timid than you had meant, but he looked up anyways. His lazy smile was strained in a way you had never seen it before and beads of sweat fell in various spots on his skull. He looked tired, like he hadn’t slept in days.

You took a step forward, about to try and break the two apart and explain why they shouldn’t argue, but you were stopped as two strong arms wrapped around you, nearly picking you up off the ground.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…you’re okay…I can’t believe it..it’s still you…holy shit..you’re still here…it isn’t Frisk oh my god..thank fucking god..”

Your face felt hot and you knew that you were bright red with blush, you made a silent thanks for the fur on his hoodie covering your face. You felt something wet and warm on your back…was he crying? Yup, he’s crying. You stroked the back of his jacket softly, your fingers meeting the hard rib bones underneath. He was shaking, sobs wracking his body and he held you harder with each one.

Toriel was just watching, worry on her face as she struggled with what to do.

“S-sans? Are you okay?” Your voice was shaky and nervous, but you were worried too, he had mentioned someone named Frisk, who was that?

 

His trembling lightened with your voice, and he took in a few deep breaths to calm his tears.

His grip on you loosened and he pulled back slightly, the lights of his eyes dim as they searched yours.

 

“I am now.”

 

* * *

 

 

 

Toriel had made an awkward cough in an effort to catch your attention, and the two of you had broken your embrace in a speedy and flustered flurry. Sans sniffled a few times and wiped his tears, while you silently wondered how he cried without eyes or a nose. The walk upstairs was quiet, but not unwelcome, Sans stayed directly next to you the entire time. Toriel was trying to show him the house, but his eyes never left you. He seemed so tired, how long had you been gone?

 

 

You all sat at Tori’s dining table, a freshly baked pie in between you all. You wanted to eat, but you decided you should ask questions first. You stopped Sans from talking by giving him a strained look, and returning your attention to Toriel. “How did I get here?” You asked.

“I found you in the ruins yesterday, my child. Your ankle was twisted and you seemed to be slightly bruised in places, but other than that you seemed fine. You were knocked out though so I brought you back here…You finally woke up this morning.”

Sans watched you, and you knew he could see the confusion on your face. “But then how…” You drifted off and glanced at Sans. One of his eyes was closed and his smiled was strained.

Your hands automatically went to your stomach, the place the spear had gone, and his eyes followed you. You felt cold.

Toriel looked more worried, “My child…? Are you alright?” You nodded weakly, hoping she would dismiss your odd behavior. “So…” Toriel looked at Sans, “How do you know…um?” She looked back at you.

“___...” You told her your name for the second time, something about it seemed sad to you.

 

“We uh…” oh god, how did you explain this?

 

“We’re friends on the undernet.”

 

“The…undernet?”

 

You looked at Sans, confused. What the hell was the undernet? Yeah you knew about the internet, but the undernet?

He put his hand on your forearm and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“Yeah, we met on undernet…isn’t that right, ____?”

You nodded almost too enthusiastically, “Y-yeah…that’s where we met..”

 

Toriel seemed perplexed. “But I thought those on the surface couldn’t access the undernet??” She questioned.

 

Sans tensed at her question, having obviously not prepared for answering it. This time, however, you knew what to say.

 

“I’m very good at programming and hacking. Computers are kinda my thing…haha…” You laughed awkwardly at your sentence, wishing you had worded it better. “I uh…sorta just found the undernet one day…and ya know…here I am…..”

 

She looked at you slightly unconvinced, but it was the best you could do.

 

“…I see.” Was all she said. She looked back at Sans. “So…Sans? How exactly did you know that ____ would be here?”

You spoke up and answered for him. “I wanted to meet my friends from the undernet, but they wouldn’t tell me where they were from…so I kinda tracked them. I ended up on this mountain and messaged Sans saying I was going to visit. He had told me about how hard things were down here…I just wanted to help, but then I fell and that’s when you found me.”

 

“I see.” She said once again.

 

Sans was still tense next to you, but you couldn’t blame him. You had been the one hoping to ask questions, you didn’t expect to be answering them.

 

Toriel went on to explain to you how dangerous the outside of the ruins was and you just nodded, she had told you all of this before, even if she didn’t remember. Sans hand was still on your arm and you noticed his grip tighten for a moment when Tori mentioned Asgore. You and Sans managed to convince the goat mom to let you go, Sans profusely promising her that he would watch over you and protect you. His declaration made you blush and Tori giggled when she noticed. She sent you on your way with provisions again, wrapping the blue jacket from before around your shoulders. You didn’t wear the froggit beanie this time. It hadn’t protected you from Undyne, and you weren’t too worried about Papyrus. Sans had pulled you aside as you packed your bag and told you he would explain things more thoroughly back at his home.

Tori exchanged phone numbers with you once again, and this time she exchanged her number with Sans as well and you groaned when they instantly began texting each other puns. Sans also made a point to put his number in your phone, leaving his name as “Bone Boy ;)”

 

The name made you giggle and you made a mental note to call him that from now on.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

It had taken Sans a lot of effort to convince Papyrus that you were a good human and that you should stay with them, but once he gave in you found yourself once again being carried off to the skeleton brothers house.

Papyrus had been shouting about Undyne the entire run and you had found yourself giggling this time, instead of blacking out. Sans also ran along side you both instead of staying behind like before. You caught him staring at you occasionally, a blue haze staining his cheekbones whenever you giggled at Papyrus.

You were at the brother’s home in no time, the familiar atmosphere calming you, but also filling you with more questions. Why did no one but Sans remember you?

 

Papyrus had gone out to complete his sentry duties, and Sans seemed to sense your increasing questions. An expectant tension settled between the two of you as you both sat on the couch. He turned and looked at you, his gaze causing you to sweat with nervousness.

 

**_“You ever heard the name, Frisk?”_ **

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alsoooo, in case any of you want to get into contact with me, my tumblr is http://reliablebonedaddy.tumblr.com/  
> I'm a bit more active on there so if you wanna contact me it's a good place to go.   
> Thanks everyone :)


	7. Skeletal Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I'm currently working on chapter 8 so today should be a double upload day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Frickity frack

**_“F-Frisk?”_ **

 

The name stumbled off your tongue. It tasted bitter in your mouth.

 

Sans eyes avoided you, looking at the ground and narrowing.

“Yeah, have you heard the name before?”

 

You shook your head, “n-no, but I noticed you mention it earlier…back at Toriel’s”

You blushed remembering how Sans had embraced you.

“So...” you paused awkwardly, “Who’s Frisk?”

Sans’ expression remained dark as he went on to say, “The kid who came before you. The one who ruined everything.”

You flinched at his words, he had just said Frisk was a child, right? So why did he sound so hateful when he spoke about them?

He seemed to sense your unease, “They’re the one who started the resets.”

 

“Resets?”

“Yeah, down here,” he motioned to the space around him, you realized he was gesturing to the entirety of the Underground, “Frisk was able to reset time. Whenever they got injured or things didn’t go how they wanted, they just reset it all.”

You were confused, a multitude of emotions overcoming you at once. Was he lying? You couldn’t even try to understand how _resetting time_ was possible.

“B-but how is that…?” You tried to voice your confusion but drifted off, unable to find the right wording.

Sans looked up, his eyes settling on yours with an intensity that made you squirm. “I don’t know exactly how the kid did it, but they did. The first time they fell they were nice, made friends with a few monsters here and there, got along great with Pap…but they still killed a few of us…”

You started sweating, Frisk had killed monsters? You gulped at the thought of the child harming others.

Sans continued, “When they got to the end of the first time…I guess they didn’t want it to be over. They restarted and everyone lost their memories. Everyone but me.”

You were about to intervene to ask questions, but he stopped you. “Let me finish, pal. The second time Frisk was even better. Kid didn’t kill a single monster and befriended

everyone,” he smirked at you, “they even got Undyne to be their friend. I don’t know what stopped the kid, they had broken the barrier, we were free…but then they reset again

and we all woke up back here. Once again nobody remembered. Except me. This went on for more resets than I could count. I was fine with it at first, the kid wasn’t hurting

anyone so I was glad for that, but it got tiring, ya know? Every single time we would get so close to freedom and then Frisk would just rip it away from us, over and over and

over again.” His words caused you to grimace, and you clutched your shirt in an attempt to not get emotional. “I’m not sure what happened, but one day after the kid had set

us free and reset again…they changed. When they came out of the ruins...I….the kid was covered in dust. I just remember that emotionless look they had, the kids eyes weren’t

even the same color. They were this nasty red, and they always had this dead look on their face. I tried to ignore it, to go about the run like normal, but something was up. The

kid was killing, and this time it wasn’t just a few people here and there. In less than a day they had wiped out the entire area leading up to Snowdin. Paps and I just managed to

evacuate everyone before the kid got here…thank god. I had tried to get Paps to leave with me, I don’t even remember how many times I tried to tell the kid not to fight him.”

His words were starting to crack and you could tell talking about this was hard for him. In an effort to calm him you placed your hand on his and stroked your thumb over his

bones. He looked at you, a tinge of blue on his face and he sighed. His voice grew more steady, “I uh…Paps…he left me a note saying that he wanted to help the kid, that he

thought maybe Frisk was just having a hard time and needed a friend. I had been evacuating people so I didn’t see it until too late. I had expected Paps to be gone when I got

there…but he was still there, carrying the kid in his arms. Frisk was just bawling their eyes out and repeating ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’ I thought it was over, that they had been

fixed and that they would go back to their little pacifist route, but then they reset.” His voice started to take an angry tone but you kept your hand on his, “In the middle of all

their apologies and blubbering this kid…this kid fucking reset! I didn’t know what to think, I thought maybe the kid wanted to bring back all the people they had hurt, but they

didn’t. They came out of the ruins the same way they had before. All red eyed and covered in dust. I stayed closer to Paps this time, I had given him stricter warnings about the

human, but he snuck away again. I almost made it that time too, but this time around Paps wasn’t holding the kid. He w-was…” He choked on his words and looked down

again, a single tear escaped his eye socket. “Paps was gone. All that kid left me was his scarf and a pile of dust…” You yourself were crying now, but you did so in silence, not

wanting to interrupt his story. “The kid went on to kill, they murdered every person from the ruins to the castle. I met them there, I had waited so long. I passed my judgement.

The kid was already LV 19, the highest you can get is 20…” You wanted to ask what he meant by LV but you remained silent, waiting for him to finish. “I don’t remember how

many times we fought, I killed the kid so many times. I couldn’t let them get to the surface, ya know? I knew the kid wouldn’t stop with just monsters, they’d kill everyone,

humans too. The kid finally gave up on fighting me I think, they reset god knows how many times, and I watched Paps die every single time. I’m so tired…______... I’m the only

one who remembers and I don’t even know why. But something changed, I was waiting for Frisk to show up last time and they didn’t” He looked up at you, the tears leaving his

eyes and a smile settling upon his face, “Instead of finding that murderous little shit I found you, dancing in the middle of the forest road and singing.” Your face reddened at

the memory of him finding you, but you didn’t let your eyes leave his. “You’re new, _____, and I will do absolutely anything to keep you here. I won’t let Frisk come back.” The

heaviness of his words settled on you.

You took in a sharp breath, “h-holy shit.”

“Do you not believe me…?”

The pain in his voice caused your stomach to drop. How could you not believe him? Sure, you didn’t understand how a kid could reset time, but this was a closed off

underground magic fucking cave, who were you to question how all this worked?

 

You waved your hands in front of your face, “N-no I believe you! I do! It’s just a lot to take in…”

He let out a sigh of relief.

 

 

“________, thank you”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (◡‿◡✿) There will probably be a lot of fluff in the next chapter.   
> I also gotta go back and edit this chapter haha, I have a lot of shit grammar and punctuation going on. :(


	8. Friend or Foe?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one was mostly written by Claudia, but the last half was written by Alleyah. We asked Makenna to edit but she didn't do much and we're all too lazy so we'll make Grey go back and do it later. 
> 
> This is also a...we think 3rd person point of view? But it's mostly Toriel and the ruins sooooo ye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellllooooo beautiful people that read Grey's story!!! This chapter is not canon (hehe not yet!) and is not actually written by Grey (the creator and author of this fic) but by his beautiful and loving friends, Claudia, Makenna, and Alleyah. Right now Grey is out of town and he gave me, Claudia, permission to write a chapter for his fic since he's so busy. The girls and I have been following this story since he first started it so we're really excited to write for it! (Although Grey doesn't know about Makenna and Alleyah yet). Also! This chapter has a new character! A human character! We really really really wanted Grey to be in this fic cause we just really want to see him as a storybook or even animated character, it just suits him so well (but he'll probably kill us for this) so we decided to write him as a character in his own story! He'll probably delete this chapter as soon as he sees it but it's okay, we'll convince him not too. We're hoping this boosts his self confidence because honestly Grey is gorgeous but he doesn't think so, so maybe writing him as extra gorgeous will flatter him enough that he'll make this canon? who knows! anyways we three really hope you enjoy our story and that Grey doesn't delete it. If you like it please comment, we wanna keep writing for Grey so if we have some reader support that might help, and it'll probably help us convince him to let us keep writing him as a character. ~Claudia
> 
>  
> 
> We tried really hard to mimic Grey's writing style! Let us know how we did! --Alleyah
> 
> Grey, please don't kill me this wasn't my idea - Makenna

Toriel was lonely after you had gone. The brief time you had spent with her had been enough to remind her of what it felt like to have company. The halls of her small ruin home seemed to echo with the sound of your voice and nothing she did made it stop. She went about her daily chores, cleaning the halls, baking, stopping by the spider bake sale to say hello, assisting the froggit’s in their daily tasks. None of this however seemed to clear you of her mind. She wanted company again, yes she had the occasional whimsum or froggit but they were all so shy. They hardly spoke to her let alone would sit down and have tea with her. She wanted someone more…more tangible and real. It had been a week since you had left and she started to get anxious. More than once she had thought about leaving the ruins, the reminder of Asgore holding her back. At the end of the week she went to the depths of the ruins, to the place where you and the other children had first fallen. She expected nobody to be there, that was how it normally went, but when she went to that cave that was bursting with golden flowers she was taken aback. In the center of the blossoms sat a young man who was staring up at the sky through the hole he had fallen in. Despite his obvious youth his eyes had an ancient look about them and his gaze drifted to the stars in a look of hope. He seemed to be thankful for something.

 

 

Toriel had been staring at the man for a while, so caught off guard and enamored with his communion with the stars that she seemed to have forgotten how to speak. She wanted to greet him, to say hello and introduce herself to this beautiful and curious creature, but the words refused to leave her lips. She stepped forward to approach him, and a flower rustled under her foot. The man’s back had been facing her the whole time she had watched him and now it tensed, sensing the goat monsters presence. He turned slowly to face her, deep chocolate bangs falling in front of his eyes and brows. His right hand moved on its own to brush them aside and his eyes searched the room for whoever had made the noise. Toriel breathed in calmly when she realized why he wasn’t able to locate her straight away. The cave had always been dark and you had only been able to find your way because of the light on your phone. This man seemed to have none of that as he continued to search the cavern, his eyes squinted in an attempt to brush past the dark. Toriel giggled, as a monster who had lived here for many years her eyes were well adjusted to the dark, watching this strange young man struggled to see her was surprisingly funny. He froze when he heard her laugh and his head snapped to face her. She stopped laughing, she certainly didn’t want to frighten this human. She went to speak out, to say hello, but before she did a soothing and melodic voice spoke out. “Is it so funny to watch me search the dark? The stars do not provide enough light for me to see, would you mind telling me who you are?” His voice was beautiful, it wasn’t too low and it wasn’t too high, she had never heard anything like it. His words seemed to scratch when he said ‘r’ and the lilt that he had reminded her of roses and the cherry blossom trees she had seen on the surface so long ago.

 

 

“Dear child…” she paused, ‘child’ did not seem the proper way to address him, but she continued anyway, “I am Toriel, caretaker of theses ruins, I come here every day to see if anyone has fallen down. Please, I know you cannot see me but with your permission I will take your hand and lead you through the catacombs..?” She looked to the man for his approval and realized that since the first time she had giggled he had been smiling. It was a silky and crooked smile that spread across his face in a ray of warmth. She felt her chest tighten when she looked at him, the kindness that emanated from him reminded her so much of… She wouldn’t think of it, instead she gently placed her hand over the humans and began to lead him down through the ruins.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Toriel was overcome with curiosity about this man. Unlike you or any other human who had fallen he gave no signs of surprise or fear when he saw that she was a monster. He treated her the same as he had done in the darkness before he could see her, she couldn’t decide if she was unsettled or calmed by him. She led him through the puzzles, careful not to leave him behind like she had done to you, she didn’t need to get ingredients to bake pie this time as she had made one a few hours before. When they reached her home he had stopped behind her for a while. When she turned to see what he was doing she found him staring at the tree in front of the house, it was blackened and dead, a pile of dead leaves fallen around it. The tree brought back many memories even though it hadn’t bloomed in many years, memories of her children running around in their youth, her husband… She looked back to the man, trying to shake the thoughts out of her head. He was staring at the tree with the same look that he had given the stars, hope, nostalgia, even longing, as if he was missing something that nobody could remember, not even him. She silently wondered to herself what gave his eyes their ancient look, what had this strange human been through before he fell down here? The man seemed to shake himself out of whatever thoughts were plaguing him and he looked back to Toriel, his usual sheepish grin spreading on his face. They continued their walk back into the home. Once inside she explained to him the way the underground works, the same as she had done with you. When he didn’t seem surprised by any of the information she was telling him she was unsettled once more, that is until she saw that warm smile of his and her worries melted away. He was obviously a very kind human, despite his aloofness. He was a quiet human and she wondered to herself if perhaps he was shy because he was in a new place with someone he didn’t know. You certainly hadn’t been. He only spoke to compliment her home and thank her for helping him. She noticed when she had first seen him that he didn’t seem to be carrying any items with him, but now she could see just how barren he was. He wore a tight black turtleneck sweater, black jeans, and some black leather shoes with white trim. He certainly seemed to like black and she herself noted how nicely they complimented his dark features. She found herself watching him with every free moment she had. It wasn’t until she had set the dining table and served food to the both of them that she realized something. “Oh dear me, I’m so deeply sorry my child, but it seems I haven’t asked your name yet! And all this time you’ve known mine…” She felt terrible, but he just kept smiling at her, the ends of his eyes crinkling with understanding. “It’s no problem, miss. There is no need to fret, my name is nothing special, I should have properly introduced myself though.” He held out his hand and she took notice of how large it seemed to be for someone of his size. His fingers were long and thin, she was surprised to find them so feminine against the muscular and masculine rest of his hands. He held her hand firmly and gave her a look of keen respect before shaking and speaking, “My name is Grey, and it is an absolute _pleasure_ to meet you Miss Toriel.”

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

The next few days that Toriel spent with Grey went by beautifully. She missed you still, but this man was an absolute pleasure to be with and had not once mentioned wanting to leave. She was slightly suspicious, but she didn’t want to lose him by prying so she kept her mouth shut. Every time they spoke she found herself having more fun than she had in the last. He spoke so eloquently that she couldn’t help but be swept away by his charm, not to mention he was wonderful to look at as well. At nights she would often find him sitting underneath the tree in the front yard, staring at it nostalgically as though he had known it in a past life or had seen it in a dream. On those nights she would leave him be and busy herself by baking him butterscotch pie. He always seemed to light up whenever he came back in to find the warm sugary confection waiting for him. Their time together was a grand one despite having only been a few days, but what was days turned into weeks and Toriel found herself growing a deep friendship with this man. At the end of the third week the inevitable happened, Grey began to ask questions. They were subtle at first so Toriel wasn’t worried about them, but when he struck conversation during dinner she started to grow anxious.

“Tori…” his voice was as soothing as ever, “When was the last time another human came through here? Am I the only human in the underground?” Her breath hitched. Over the weeks he had been with her this man had grown to be a good friend and some of the best company she had. She didn’t want to lose him, but she also didn’t want to lie to him. “The last human that came through…it was about a month ago. She should still be down here, she left the ruins a week before you came…so she isn’t here anymore, but she’s out in the underground.” As usual his reactions were minimal, as though he wasn’t surprised, but she was shocked to see that he was deep in thought. “Tori…if I leave, can I come back?”

The question took her by surprise and she froze. She fought the instinct to run downstairs to the exit. She wanted to break the door, to collapse the stairway. She wanted him to **stay.** “I-I..”

He cut in, “Please, Tori, don’t lie to me. I need to know.”

She didn’t want to lie anymore. “No…so far I’ve never let another human back into the ruins once they’ve left but…” “But…?”

She wanted this man to be the exception, the one she would let back in, the one she would let visit her. He had stayed with her the longest. “Tori” His features and tone suddenly became serious and she was forced to look into his eyes. The deep rust color seemed to turn into a fire before her and he spoke.

 “Is the girl who fell in any danger?”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Toriel hated this. She didn’t want him to leave, she didn’t want to lose another friend. Especially not him, but he was determined. She could see it in his eyes, the blend of golds, browns, blacks, and red turned his gaze into a fiery blaze that she could not ignore. While he had stayed with her she had sewn some of her husband’s old clothing into more suitable clothes for Grey, Asgore’s old shirts and pants had been much too large for the young man so she had to make quite a few adjustments, but it was worth it. He had a bag of food and clothing prepared for his departure as well as enough warm clothes to help him make it through Snowdin comfortably.

 

* * *

 

 

 

It was the night before he was supposed to leave and once again she found him beneath the dead tree in her yard. Something was different this time though, he had his hand resting comfortably on the tree’s trunk and he seemed to be speaking to it in a soft tone, his whispers too light for her to hear, and for once he was smiling at it. The look of nostalgia and sadness that he had previously held towards the tree was gone and replaced with a look of love and joy. She almost felt like she was watching something private and not meant to be seen. She stepped away from the window she had been looking out of and blushed. She needed to busy herself while he was saying his goodbyes to the place, so she went down the stairs and to the exit that he would be going to in the morning. She sat by the door for a long while, silence permeating the air. Sans had only come to the door twice since you had left, and she missed sharing jokes with him.  As if summoned by her thoughts a knock rang out from the other side of the tall exit. “Knock knock!”

She had missed his voice and bolted up as soon as she heard the knock. “W-who’s there?” She asked, almost too eager to hear his joke.

“A herd”

“A herd who…?”

“A herd you were home, so I came over!”

She broke into a fit of giggles with him before finally speaking, “Sans! It is so good to hear from you again…how is _____?”

He chuckled, “What? Getting bonely without me? And good, she’s doing good. Paps and I are working real hard to make sure the king doesn’t find her.”

She stiffened at the mention of her ex-husband, but pushed past it, “I’m glad. Sans…there’s something important I need to tell you…”

Before she could tell him about Grey she was interrupted by the young man walking down the stairs. “Tori? Am I interrupting something? I couldn’t find you anywhere so I got worried…” She could hear the worry in his voice, and immediately waved her hands in an attempt to quell his fears. “Oh no my child, I am fine, I’m just…” she realized this would be the perfect time to introduce Grey to Sans. “My child…do you know any knock knock jokes?” He didn’t respond, merely raised an eyebrow to her while she gestured to the door. Toriel inched closer to whisper, “ _There is a friend of mine and the girl who is behind this door, he enjoys knock knock jokes, please, introduce yourself. He is kind.”_

Grey kept his eyebrow raised in curiosity and question, but said nothing further before moving to the door. He leaned his side against it, crossing his legs casually before knocking twice against the hard wood. Sans spoke out, “Who’s there?”

 

Grey spoke in a lower tone than normal, probably to try and make himself mysterious to Sans, “Adore.”

 

Sans shock at hearing the male voice was apparent from his long pause, “…Adore who…?”

 

Grey chuckled before continuing, “Adore is between us, but it’s nice to meet you!”

Toriel expected the usual howl of laughter from Sans, that’s what normally came after she told him a joke, but they were met with only silence. Grey looked at her with slight worry on his face, he seemed to be asking if he had done something wrong. After what seemed like an eternity of silence another knock came from the door. Grey answered a bit more hesitantly, “Who’s there…?”

“Harry.” The voice behind the door was serious and chilling, Toriel grew nervous.

“Harry who?”

“Harry up and let me in.”

 

Grey’s eyes flitted to Tori’s in a look of fear, she had never seen him look like that before. She didn’t know what to do. She had let Sans in once before and things had gone fine, but he sounded different now and she wasn’t sure how to react. “Sans..” she spoke to the door gently, “Are you sure I should let you in? The human in here is very kind, he will not hurt you or me.”

There was a long pause, “You don’t know that Tori.”

She sighed, she was growing aggravated with Sans, “Yes, Sans, I do know that. They’ve been with me for almost a month now!”

“A MONTH??”

Sans outburst caught Toriel and Grey both by surprise before Sans cut in again, his voice much calmer. “Tori just let me in, I just wanna meet the kid.”

Tori gave him a short answer as she ushered Grey up the stairs and away from the exit, “No, he was planning on leaving tomorrow anyways, you can meet him then if you’re so insistent.”

Sans sighed behind the door, but said nothing else. The rest of the night was spent in silence between the two housemates, despite a nervous Toriel pacing her room for most of the night.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

The next morning came too soon for Toriel, Grey could see the stress on her face and the lack of sleep in her eyes. His concern was apparent, “Tori…are you sure it’s alright for me to leave?”

“My child, do not worry about me, I have thought it over many times and it would be best for you to see _____. She could use another human down here, and besides, the ruins are small. You would grow tired of this place after a while, tired of me…” The last part of her sentence was barely even a whisper, but he somehow still heard it. As a way to comfort her and say goodbye he embraced her. Tori was tall and Grey was short, even for a male human, but she felt safe and comforted nonetheless. With a final squeeze Grey made for the door, his provisions and clothing on the bag on his back. They said their final farewells, and he opened the door to be embraced by the cold forest air. Grey was finally in the Underground.

 

And Sans was there waiting.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE'RE FORCING GREY TO KEEP THIS CHAPTER HAHAHAHA but also sorry for people who wanted more reader x sans, there isn't really much of that in this chapter. If Grey isn't back early tomorrow then we'll post another to make up for it. We just really wanted to introduce Grey in this chapter ~ Claudia


	9. Just Let Him Explain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WOOOOOO  
> I've been gone soooooooooooooooooooo much longer than planned.  
> Sorry about that.  
> I was actually back, but I waited another week to post because I was so embarrassed about the last chapter that was uploaded. I had a long talk with the girls and I decided I won't delete it cause they spent so much time on it, but this is just a psa, they made me wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy different than I really am. I DO NOT act or look like that. I'm very embarrassed and sorry, but they still want to keep writing, and since they bought me coffee, I'm letting them. Just know, the Grey in this story is not the same Grey as the author.   
> This chapter and the next will be by me, but It's been decided that I will be uploading once a week, as will the girls. However, I refuse to write myself as a character so Grey in the story will only show up when they write. This chapter is short, but I'll be double uploading tonight because of it. Hope you enjoy, and well, i'm glad to be back and writing :)

It had been two weeks since you had moved into the skeleton brothers’ home. After Sans had told you about the resets he had just kinda…disappeared? He was home, that much you knew for sure, but he showed up so rarely that you had become suspicious. It was obvious that he was avoiding you but the question of why kept nagging at the back of your brain. Had you done something wrong? Papyrus seemed exceedingly happy to have a guest staying with them, especially a human one, so why was Sans so cranky about you being here? The tearful embrace that had happened at Toriel’s was a thing of the past and whatever had caused this change in him was bugging you to no end.

 

You checked your phone, it’s Monday, the start of your third week here. Sans hasn’t been home in four days, it’s the longest amount of time he’s been gone and even Papyrus is starting to get worried. His constant pacing around the house is starting to get on your nerves, not to mention that the last three times he tried to make spaghetti he ended up spilling pasta and sauce all over the floor. You’d decided this was it, you can’t take it anymore. You HAD to find out why Sans was avoiding you and you NEEDED, **dear GOD** , you needed to calm Papyrus the fuck down.

You picked up your phone again, clicking open your contacts app. For some reason it refused to connect to any calls on the surface, as none of the calls you’d made to your coworkers or …her…had gone through. They did somehow manage to reach Papyrus and Toriel though, and although Toriel never answered your calls you knew she was getting them.

You clicked the name you had been searching for, Sans. You held the phone to your ear as it called. It rang, and rang, ….and rang, and rang again. You sat on the couch with the phone pressed to your ear, the relentless ringing starting to tick you off.

The ringing stopped and a hesitant baritone voice answered.

 

“…hello?”

 

You practically screeched at him.

 

“SANS!? WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU? WHY HAVEN’T YOU BEEN HOME IN FOUR DAYS? WHERE DO YOU KEEP DISAPPEARING TO? PAPYRUS IS WORRIED AS FUCK YOU ASSHOLE, AND I’M SICK OF DEALING WITH HOW FUCKING JITTERY HE IS. YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO, AND I SUGGEST YOU START RIGHT FUCKIN NOW!”

 

There was a long pause before he spoke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“look, ___, I can’t really talk right now I’m wo-“

 

 

 

 

 

He was cut off.

 

You could hear a woman’s voice in the background talking to him.

“S-sans…….who……you…..phone…”

You held your breath and strained your ears trying to make out what she was saying, but she had stopped talking.

“look,” Sans was speaking again, this time with an annoyed tone, “I’ll be home tonight. We can uh, talk then.”

 

 

*click*

 

 

He had hung up.

You were practically fuming at your phone, how DARE he hang up on you, how DARE he IGNORE you. You threw your phone to the other end of the couch, crossed your arms and huffed. You were glaring at your phone so hard that it took you almost ten minutes to realize Papyrus had been standing in the doorway watching everything.

“_-____? WAS THAT…SANS?”

His brow bones were furrowed and his bony features were molded into a frown. Your face instantly faded from anger to regret.

“Papyrus oh no…I’m sorry I should have…” but you trailed off, after all, what should you have done? Not even you knew that, it’s not like Sans would have been willing to talk to Papyrus any more than he had been to you. You looked at the tall skeleton sullenly, “Paps, I think he’s safe…he just won’t tell me where he is. I’m sorry I said that stuff about you, really, I just hate seeing you so stressed and worried. He’s coming home tomorrow. We just….we just have to wait till then I guess.”

 

Papyrus wasn’t looking at you anymore, his gaze had fallen to the floor and his hands were shaking slightly.

“____, thank you…for trying.”

 

He went upstairs to his room, shutting the door behind him swiftly but quietly.

He didn’t make dinner for once, in fact, he didn’t leave his room for the rest of the night.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

The door had opened softly, but apparently not softly enough, because you woke up.

 

You grabbed your phone in your half asleep state, groaning at the brightness of the screen when you turned it on to check the time.

 

**4:00 am**

 

You knew immediately that _he_ must have woken you up, even if it had been by accident.

 

You searched the room groggily and tried to find him in the dark. The door had just opened so he must be there but…he wasn’t. Your eyes fluttered to his room.

You muttered under your breath angrily, “bastard must have teleported to his room to avoid me. Nice try, dick, but it won’t work.”

You lightly threw the blanket that had been on you off to the side and stood. The sudden movement made you lightheaded, but you held onto the coffee table and waited for it to pass.

 You moved away from the living room and proceeded to quietly tip-toe up the stairs. It was possible that Sans had thought you were still asleep, you hoped this was the case, you really wanted to catch him off guard.

 

 

You were in front of his room.

 

The flickering light from under his door illuminated your skin as you moved to grab the door handle.

Before you could turn it, it moved on its own.

The door was open and in front of your surprised face was Sans, his usual smile turned into a slight grimace as beads of sweat ran down the sides of his skull.

“..uh…hey. come in?”

The shock on your face quickly changed into a scowl as you pushed past him into the bedroom.

You stomped over to his bed, trying to ignore the whirlwind of socks and trash in the corner, as well as the treadmill in the middle of the room. You sat down, pushing a large bundle of blankets to the side.

“Start explaining.”

Your voice was harsh, cold, and demanding. It left no room for arguing or protest and Sans knew it.

He let out a shaky breath.

“I uh, I really fucked up, huh?”

 

You didn’t speak, just nodded your head.

“I should have explained where I was before I left, I’m really sorry.”

 

“Yeah, you should have, and you should be.”

He flinched at your words but kept going.

“please…just let me explain and finish before you chastise me.”

Your narrowed your eyes but let him continue.

“I…I got another job. Well, wait, let me rephrase that, I got back an old job of mine. I didn’t want to tell Papyrus because if I did it would mean explaining the resets to him and I just…I can’t do that to him.”

The mention of the resets caught your attention and you sat up straighter.

“I started working at the lab again,” before you could ask he kept going, “It’s the lab with the royal scientists Alphys. She maintains the core, the big machine that keeps electricity and power in the underground, and she’s been researching ways to break the barrier. I used to work with her on all that, but I quit when Paps was younger because I didn’t want him around it, I wanted him as far away from the core as possible…” for a moment you thought you saw Sans remember something, but the look in his eyes had flashed so fast that you weren’t sure.

“We moved from Hotland to Snowdin, and after that all the resets started. I wasn’t planning on going back to that job, but…”

 

He trailed off and after a minute of silence you finally decided to speak up.

“But what, Sans?”

 

His eyes moved from the ground back up to you, but this time his sockets were void of light.

 

 

 

 

 

_**“But then you showed up.”** _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fkfkfkfkfk


	10. Who's there?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you just kinda fuck around idk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhhhh. I was supposed to upload this yesterday but my internet broke for a little bit. This is the last chapter today. The girls said they'd be uploading either tomorrow or saturday so the next chapter is on them. Sorry this one is so short. Hopefully they write something longer, cheers!

**_“What do you mean, since I showed up?”_ **

****

Sans watched you hesitantly, as if he wasn’t sure whether to speak or not.

 

“Look, ___ , I told you this before, right? Before you Frisk was the only human who ever came out of those ruins. And ever since you came out new things have been happening left and right. I’m worried, ok? I don’t know what will come next, I’ve been back and forth with Frisk so long and for so many resets that I grew accustomed to knowing what would happen. It was all predictable, I knew what Frisk would do next, I knew who would die next, what to expect…but with you I don’t have that. Even though you’ve died once you didn’t load a save…you went straight back to Toriel’s, all the way in the ruins. If you can’t save or load…then somethings wrong. Obviously I don’t want you dying again, but with everything being so unpredictable I can’t take chances. Accidents happen and it is very possible that you will die again, but we don’t know if you’ll show up back in the ruins or if you’ll wake up here, or if you’ll even wake up at all. You aren’t like Frisk, yes as a human you have determination…but your soul isn’t the kid’s. Frisk could only reset because they had such a tremendous amount of determination, if you can’t save or load…it’s very possible that you don’t have that.”

 

Your mind was reeling from all the new information that he was throwing at you. Souls? Okay yeah you had seen yours when you were avoiding Flowey, but determination? What the fuck is that? More importantly you were confused about what he meant by save and load. Your mind flickered back to something else, “ _if you’ll even wake up at all.”_

Your hands automatically went to your stomach, clutching the spot that Undyne’s spear had previously pierced and a heat filled your chest as you realized something, just because you had gotten lucky and woken up once didn’t mean that it would happen again. You looked up from the hand clutching your stomach and made eye contact with Sans. It seemed he was thinking the same thing. _Your death next time could be permanent._

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

You took a deep breath before talking again.

“So…what exactly are you trying to tell me? I mean I get that you’re scared, things are unpredictable, and my death may be permanent,” _not that it wasn’t permanent on the surface though_ , “but what does this have to do with you getting your old job back and disappearing for days?”

Sans was looking at the floor again with his usual smile still plastered onto his face, albeit a bit strained.

“I need to know what to do. I had to start my research again. If you die we don’t know what might happen. We don’t know if you can reset or load or save so I’ve been trying to find that out without…ya know….killing you? I need to at least somewhat know what to expect…”

You let out a deep sigh of relief

“So…that’s it?”

“What do you mean that’s it?”

“I mean…that’s the only reason you’ve been gone?”

“Well…yeah? What else would there be? This is kinda important…”

“I just… I don’t know. Thought you were avoiding me or something.”

His brow bones shot up in shock at your statement.

“Avoid you?! Why would I ever avoid you!?”

You sat back a little further on his bed, alarmed at how he had suddenly raised his voice.

“W-well I don’t know…I thought maybe I had freaked you out or something or you didn’t like me…?”

He stepped closer as you had started to scooch back away from him. Sans hands were in the air at this point, thrown up and moving with his words. If you weren’t worried that he was gonna screech at you some more you might have thought it was funny how animated he was.

 

“____!”

Your eyes snapped to his at the shout of your name.

“y-yeah, Sans?”

His voice lowered slightly, and his eyes softened as he gazed at you.

“I will never. Ever. Avoid you. Understand?”

You tried to ignore the heat creeping up from your neck and onto your cheeks as you nodded yes.

“I made a promise to Toriel, and I don’t normally make promises. I told her I would protect you okay? No way am I going back on that now.”

Sans looked at you a large grin creeping across his face now that his declaration had been made.

“So...” He glanced at the wall and you followed his gaze. He was looking at a clock.

**6:12 am**

“Wanna go to Grillbys?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

The second you stepped through the door to the bar you were greeted by warmth. The kind that reminded you of a brightly lit fireplace and hot chocolate during the winter. You smiled as a flood of memories from being a kid came back.

“_____!”

You were shaken out of your daydream by Sans. He had made his way to the bar and was patting the seat next to him offering for you to sit down. “Come on! What are you doing over there?”

You smiled warmly at the skeleton and made your way to the stool only to sit down and have a loud fart noise come straight from your seat. You blushed brightly and brought your hands up, shaking them back and forth and trying to say that it wasn’t you. You were so embarrassed though that nothing came out.

Sans had nearly bowled over next to you in laughter.

“…………………….that wasn’t very nice…..”

 

You stopped shaking your hands and looked up. A wave of soothing heat had surrounded you and you found that the source of it was the bartender in front of you. You gasped softly at the sight of him.

“You’re…Grillby?”

“……….yes……sorry about Sans…”

His voice was scratchy like a crackling fire but it soothed you all the same. You had been to the bar before Undyne had killed you, but it had only been briefly and you had only spoken to the customers and asked questions. You had never properly been introduced to Grillby, let alone gotten to see him so close. He was stunning. His face had very light features, the bump of a nose could be seen, but you couldn’t find a mouth on him. His eyes were also hidden by his dark glasses, though you suspected that they were beautiful nonetheless. His body was even more pleasing to look at. You weren’t quite sure how fire had muscles but boy did he look he worked out. The vest he wore clung tightly to his chest and his dress shirt fit around his biceps flatteringly.

He cleared his throat lightly and your face flared up once again. He had seen you staring.

Sans chuckled next to you, “hehe, got the _hots_ for Grillbz eh, ____?”

You groaned.

Sans just chuckled again before turning back to Grillby.

“Hey, Grillbz, I’ll take the usual and uh…”

He glanced at you and raised an eyebrow (how does he do that???) “Waddaya want, kiddo?”

You groaned again, “I’ll take a burger and uh” You scowled at him, “don’t call me that. I’m not a kid”

He huffed. “Whatever ya say….buddy.”

You let out a little sigh before turning on your stool to observe the rest of the bar. Grillby had walked off to make your food.

You took notice of the different patrons. A small dog in armor was playing poker against…itself? Huh. Funny. You nudged Sans next to you and pointed with your thumb at the dog. The skeleton gave you a quizzical look before you spoke, “I wonder if he’s having a…….. _ruff_ time!”

His eye sockets widened before he let out a loud howl of laughter. You smiled sheepishly at him, something about his laugh always made you feel at ease. Sans’ laugh had started to die down. He nudged you and leaned in closer to your ear. Oh no. you can feel his pun before he’s even said it. “Do you think we should… _throw him a bone?”_

You both broke out into a fit of laughter, holding onto your sides and leaning over your seats.

You only managed to catch a breath when you heard the clink of glass next to your heads.

Sans let out a pleased sigh. “Ahhh, food is here.”

And indeed it was! Your mouth practically started melting the moment you looked at the burger. It was absolutely beautiful, almost as much as it’s cook.

You took a bite into the burger and proceeded to moan loudly.

Instantly you brought your hands up to your mouth, your face hotter than it had been the entire morning. You looked over at Sans to find his mouth partly open, his normal smiled had faltered slightly and his eyebrows were brought up in a look of surprise. His face was also a bright shade of blue.

“T-this is a really good burger!” you managed to squeak out before averting your gaze from him and returning to your food.

You could hear his voice turned away from you, “yeah…it’s uh…the best.”

The rest of the meal was spent in silence, the two of you only sneaking glances at one another when you were sure the other wasn’t looking.

 

* * *

 

 

"Uh...Sans? Where are you going?"

 

You had both finished your meal and promptly exited the bar, Sans telling Grillby to put it on his tab. The moment you had exited the bar however he had started heading the opposite direction of his house.

 

"Going to visit a friend, you can go back to the house, I'll be home a bit later."

You hesitated. The thought of going with him was tempting, but you weren't sure you were ready to meet anyone new.

"Who are you going to meet?" You asked somewhat quietly. You were afraid you'd come off as overbearing. 

"Not sure who they are actually, just got introduced to them last night when I went to visit Tori's."

You perked up at the sound of the goat mom's name.

"You visited Toriel last night? I thought you were working at the lab?"

 

A bead of sweat trickled lightly down the side of his skull as he realized he had been caught.

"uh...yeah, I might have visited her last night before coming back...I wanted to get out a few knock knock jokes, ya know?"

You sighed, "yeah, Sans, I get it. I'm just surprised Tori had someone with her. When I was in the ruins she was alone. Who do you think it is?"

 

The sweat on his skull started growing and his smile turned into a grimace.

 

"Sans...what's wrong?"

 

"I uh...didn't see his face. Just his voice. He told me a knock knock joke."

 

".....okay and.......?"

 

 

Sans' back was to you and his shoulders were tense. He had stopped walking forward and his head tilted to the ground.

You were starting to get worried so you stepped towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. 

"Sans? Who is it?"

He turned his head to you slightly and you gasped. His left eye socket was completely black, no longer illuminated by the previous white light. Not only that but his right eye seemed to be on fire. A bright blue hue clung to his socket, flickers of yellow intermingling with the glow.

You stumbled backwards in shock but he didn't move an inch.

Instead he spoke out, his voice harsh and cold.

 

 

 

 **"**    **I  T  '  S    A  N  O  T  H  E  R    H  U  M  A  N  .  "**


	11. Getting to Know The Scientist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You guys find out a little more about Grey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello fans of grey's fan fic! my name is Blue and i'm a close friend of grey's. i'll be taking over grey's story from here on out, because he didn't really want to write about himself considering the character deviated far from who he really is, since the girls will no longer be working on this project. but don't worry i have plenty of interesting ideas, or at least i hope you find interesting, for Grey's character. enjoy!!

Grey hadn’t been out long before becoming transfixed by the trees outside The Ruins. His gentle hazel eyes, the starry ones he showed to Toriel, had been quickly replaced. A red, pensive stare manifested instead. Although he had taken a liking to the woman; her warmth, her kindness, outside of her safe haven was a world unbeknownst to him. A world he intended to survive, without her knowing how he would. Because the naive boy from behind the door was not the man he needed to be, to meet the skeleton he presumed would be arriving soon. 

He looked through each tree, using his newly transformed crimson eyes to examine each one thoroughly. Which one had been there the longest? Which was more responsive to him? Which was willing to tell him all he needed to know? He lightly stroked the snowcrest trunk of each tree, until deciding on the one with an oddly suspicious camera hiding behind it (to which he paid no mind, at least for now). It was closest to the Ruins door, and therefor would give him the clearest picture. Grey put his palm on the trunk, and focused on the life of the tree. He was right, the tree had been there long before the monsters had come. He could hear the life pulsing within, the ebb and flow of the inner workings of it. Their consciousnesses were interconnected now. He began to look through the trees memories, flying past them like a film reel.

Grey was a man of many, many secrets. One being the ability to link his consciousness with any living thing. For informational purposes such as this, he more often than not chose trees to link with. They were far less squirmy than live animals, and more willing to give up their information. An intriguing deal, since there was considerably more information to take. Eventually, he would delve into the story of how he achieved such abilities, figuring he would have to use them on a consenting mammal or two. Recalling the memory now would take too much time and energy for him. 

When the man had retrieved all the information he needed on the skeleton, he knew immediately what to do. Retracting his consciousness from the tree, he thanked her, hearing distant voices behind him. One he knew was the skeletons, but the other, the human girl, was unexpected. "Heh, well I guess I don’t mind having a bit an audience for the show." The sinister thought pleased him, and a slight grimace appeared on his face. His features had grown darker, and a small glow shone from his eyes. Enough to disturb any passerby. 

He heard the shuffling feet behind him suddenly stop. A singular, vicious baritone voice rung out. 

“I T ‘ S A N O T H E R H U M A N.” 

The man kept his hands behind his back, unmoving. 

“Ah, yes. You’ve finally arrived. I’ve been waiting here quite some time and I’m very, very excited to meet you.” There was a brief pause. The tonal shift in his voice made the air still. He turned slowly, revealing the red glint in his eye, before completely disappearing from the front of the tree. Dragging out his next words, in a familiar baritone voice, 

 

“c'mon, don’t you know how to greet a new pal?”. 

 

Grey’s newly skeleton hand stretched out before Sans. Looking directly into his eyes, with a blue flame in one of the sockets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay okay okay in case you didn't quite get the ending grey has two superpowers and the second one will be revealed in the next chapter. haha !!! i'm so excited for this guys, there are so many more plot twists to come it's gonna be great. welp. that's all i really do hope you like the new grey. and for those who liked the cute grey from the beginning, don't worry he'll resurface soon enough. gotta give the character some dimensions tho ya feel? haha anyway okay i'm done. cya next chapter! 
> 
> oh and some of the words were supposed to be bolded and italicized but that didn't happen for some reason so some of the dramatic effect was lost so that was a bit disappointing. hopefully grey can fix it tho :)


	12. A Wonderful Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grey and Sans fights after he pisses off Sans by shapeshifting into him. More plot twists.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omfg it's Blue again guys. I just finished writing this chapter and it's 4:30 in the morning !!!! AH!! anyway haha i hope you guys like this one i believe the next update will be grey's so look forward to that.

What. The actual fuck. Was going on? A thousand different thoughts were running rampant in your brain. Christ you could barely handle one Sans, but now, here you are staring directly at the Sans you came here with, and the Sans that just fucking appeared. Still standing there, a smug grin plastered on his face, with his hand straight out. The entire transaction took maybe a minute, but it felt like hours. Tensions running higher than you had ever felt before. Sans eyes were pitch black. If a skeleton could go pale, he’d be as transparent as Napstablook's insecurities. That strained smile etched into his skull, his jaw clenched together almost tightly enough to crack a couple teeth. Chest rising and falling slowly, meditatively, anger growing with every elongated breath. Until finally, a low rumble came from his chest in the form of a sentence. 

“ Y O U W A N N A H A V E A B A D T I M E ? ” 

“Not particularly. No.” The copycat replied as he retired his hand to the blue jacket pocket. Shifting to his side comfortably in his slippers, the same light that was once in Sans eyes appearing in his, the blue glow fading out. “I just thought we could have a nice chat. That’s all.” 

Sans was beyond confused. No human has ever possessed the power to not only teleport, but fucking shapeshift. His confusion just made his anger grow as he continued to seethe at the man masquerading as him. 

“J U S T W H A T D O Y O U T H I N K Y O U ‘ R E D O I N G?” 

God, that voice. You’d never heard such malice before, causing your bewilderment to turn into fear as you began to shiver . Whereas the man, was seemingly unaffected. He could see Sans magic hanging loosely around him. It was truly suffocating, but Grey fought back the urge to gag. No. He needed this to go well. 

“Well as far as I’m concerned I’m just having a little fun. Sorry if I offended you, I really am. I just took you to be a humerus guy.” He winked and chuckled in that low baritone voice he stole. 

 

Oh God.

 

He shouldn’t have said that.

 

Something in Sans snapped at that very moment. His eye burst into a fiery blue, and suddenly what seemed to be a million bones materialized and shot at the man. 

 

“Shit.” 

 

The man did his best to dodge them, but the constant onslaught of bones, and horrific, animalistic skeleton heads that shot ginormous lasers that seemed to come from every direction at incredible speed, began to wear him down. He didn’t know how long he could stay in this monsters form. There was no way he could’ve guessed the skeleton would’ve been THIS powerful. Grey could feel his sins crawling on his back as his breath became more sporadic and desperate. Running out of stamina, running out of time, his teleportation began to slow down with every hit. The scratches becoming deeper and deeper each time. Grey couldn’t take much more of this. There’s no way he could attack, his powers were too new and he didn’t quite have a hold on his new bodies energy. Even if he tried, there’s no way he could outlast this skeleton. He'd just have to dodge and outlast the skeleton. If not... The adventure would end here. All his work. Gone. He was so close. There was no way he could let it end here. Shaking with overflowing willpower, Grey became filled with determination. His eye sockets began to glow brighter than ever before as he exerted himself dodging every bone successfully now. 

Sans began to grow tired as well. Yet he knew he couldn’t let this prick get away with this. Tricking Toriel into thinking he was a good person. Into thinking he was human. He could feel his strength starting to deplete rapidly now, but Sans wasn’t about to let this fucker off without a fight. 

Bone after bone after laser continued at an increasing speed until it all just looked like a whirlwind, a blur of blue and white that painted the sky churning up the snow on the ground, which began to shake. 

All of a sudden Sans stopped. 

“Is it over? Oh God. Please. Tell me it’s over.” Grey thought, wheezing, nearly collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. Barely collecting himself for a moment of intelligent thought. “No… No he’s not done yet.” Standing there he waited for the next attack, sweat dripping down every square inch of his body, his muscles burning beyond belief. 

Sans stood across from him. The bones may have disappeared, but the whole area suddenly became consumed with San’s magic as a black mist surrounded them. Sans cocked his head to the side, he looked like an absolute madman. Speaking slowly, 

“Do you think you can play God? Heh heh. Well kiddo, two can play at that game.” 

Christ. Jesus. Fucking. Christ. Grey didn’t know what the hell hit him. He felt nauseous. He couldn’t quite comprehend the situation, but somehow, Sans, was restarting time. He kept fucking jumping through time sending hurdles of bones at him. Every time he dodged he was either sent forward or backward into another hurdle of bones or sometimes those god forsaken nightmare inducing skeleton head lasers. This seemed to last hours, Grey was losing so much blood. Each knick got deeper, more consistent. He could taste his blood running down his cheeks into his mouth. 

Suddenly he screamed out in pain. 

A bone went straight through his leg. He collapsed to the ground. It was over. He couldn’t move. He felt another one pierce through his shoulder. He gave out another howl. He felt his muscle tear and contort around the intruding bone in his arm and leg. Oh God was the pain unbearable. He writhed in pain, as he attempted to pull out the bone from his shoulder. A revolting squelch was heard as he removed it, a pool of blood following as he threw it to the ground. He teleported incredibly slowly now. The time jumps continued until finally he succumbed to the pain. “This is it.” He thought, laughing to himself a bit. “Shit this fucking hurts, but I never thought I’d die getting boned. Heh.” 

A swarm of bones surrounded the collapsed man from every side. His body had transformed back into his own.   
He muttered one last exhausted sentence, before closing his eyes. Accepting death. 

 

“Well. At least I know who was responsible for the resets.” 

 

And at that very moment, the bones began to shatter and disappear around him. Sans face… Was just in a look of pure shock for a lack of better words. His eye sockets had widened into an unnatural state, and for once his smile had faded into a hard line. That singular statement had brought him back from whatever hell hole his anger had thrown him in. His magic now receding into his distressed body, that stood like a statue. 

The man laid there, unconscious from the blood loss. The human behind Sans had passed out some time before, suffocated from the magic. 

Whereas Sans, taking small, static steps, stood over the scientists limp body. 

“H O W T H E H E L L D O K N O W A B O U T T H E R E S E T S?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA PLOT TWISTSSSSSSSS. WHY DID GREY WANNA FIGHT SANS? HOW DOES HE KNOW ABOUT THE RESETS? WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT? STAY TUNED KIDDIES!!!
> 
> (p.s. okay so no joke the real grey makes so many puns it's both disgusting and impressive and it really makes me angry cuz i suck at puns but he's super good at them)


	13. Going Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Grey here, Thank you all for the kind comments, Blue and I are super glad to see you've been enjoying the story. Updates are super slow, Blue and I are both super busy and we went out of town together for a couple weeks on two separate occasions so writing has been difficult. It's been decided Blue will write chapters with character Grey in them and I will write chapters that focus more on readerxSans (I don't want to write about myself as a character it's just weird to me). On a side note we have a lot planned for this story! This chapter is more of a filler and is short but I know Blue has already claimed rights to the next couple chapters and is super excited about them so they'll be posting stuff soon (I hope/think). For now I hope you enjoy this filler/teaser chapter!

There was a man on the couch.

But...was he really a man?

You had watched as Sans picked the unconscious person up with his magic and brought him back to his house, gently placing him on the couch upon arrival. You had mulled over the possibilities of who he could be in your head in the meantime. Was this man somehow related to Frisk? But how could that be? Frisk was a child who had disappeared after you showed up, and wouldn't Sans have known him if the guy had been connected to the kid? It made your head hurt to think about, so you stopped and instead decided you should attend to Sans. He was hovering over the couch, practically flinching every time the man's chest rose and fell for him to catch a breath. Even from your angle on the other side of the room it was obvious that this new human was pretty beat up. Cuts and bruises covered the visible parts of his body, and his clothes were torn in multiple places.

You spoke up, "Um...Sans?"

His shoulders tensed as he remembered you were in the house with him.

"...yeah?" His voice was soft, nervous almost.

"Should we try to heal the guy at all? You won't exactly be able to get answers out of him if he's dead."

He paused for a long time and you shifted nervously in the silence.

"yeah sure, I'll call a friend."

 

Sans walked outside the house and pulled out his phone. He still felt incredible guilt over the whole ordeal, and needed to get some air. He tapped on the contact, and within three rings they picked up. 

 

“Hey. I need you to come over. No. It’s nothing too bad… just… complicated. Yeah. I’ll explain more when you get here. K. See ya soon.” 

 

Sans hung up the phone, and went back inside. You two stared at each other, a thick wall of awkwardness built up between you two. There was so much that needed to be explained, but neither one of you knew where to start. Finally, Sans broke the silence. He couldn’t stand the tension any more. 

 

“Hey… Listen… You wanna do somethin’ later?” 

 

You couldn’t hide your surprise upon hearing this, and at the same time, couldn’t hide the twinge of excitement either. 

 

“Y-yeah. Where do you wanna go?” 

 

“I know a place.” 

 

“Cool. When do you wanna leave?” 

 

“Wait until my friend gets here to get this guy, then we can leave.” 

 

“Sounds good.” You smiled at Sans. You appreciated that he was willing to explain what the _ fuck _ happened back there, and even more so that he wanted to treat you to, well,  _ whatever _ . Though, knowing Sans it’ll probably just be Grillby’s again. But, was it a friend date? Date? You weren’t sure how he felt about you so you were content for it to just be a friend date for now, something to get your mind off of this whole thing. 

 

You jumped a little at the sudden knock at the door. It was heavy handed and rung throughout the whole house. Sans smiled a little, and went to go open it. 

 

Holy.

 

Shit. 

 

“Hey Grillbz.” 

 

It was indeed the man himself. Grillby stood at the door, nodding a hello to Sans. You blushed at the sight of him. He was still in the same clothes he wore at the bar, and he still looked, as much as you hate to say it, hot.  _ Somehow _ . Grillby waltzed into the room and immediately found himself scanning the man on the couch. He wasn’t someone who was easily shocked, but he had to admit of all the curveballs Sans had thrown at him, this was by far the most interesting. Sans had stepped up beside him looking at the man as well, eye sockets going completely black. God, you hated it when that happened. It always scared you a little, even if it wasn’t directed at you. Grillby raised an eyebrow at Sans (or at least, you think he did, Grillby doesn’t really have eyebrows), giving him a look that clearly said, “Explain. Now.” 

 

Sans gaze turned towards you, and his pupils returned. He looked a little more relaxed, albeit a  bit forced. 

 

“Hey kid, why don’t you go clean yourself up a bit? We’ll leave when i’m done talkin to him.” 

 

Although his tone was nice enough, you had a feeling that “cleaning up” wasn’t just a suggestion. So you complied, and went upstairs to shower.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Damn, a shower felt way nicer than you expected. The warm water trickled down your skin and soothed the tension in your muscles; running your fingers through your hair, working your tips through the knots. You scrubbed all the dirt and sweat away from your face and body, and a light scent of vanilla mixed into the steam around you. Chances are, you took a little longer in there than the water bill could handle. Oh well, the peace of mind was worth it, because it didn’t last for long. The minute your foot took a step out of that shower, you realized two things. 

 

  1. Where the fuck was Papyrus
  2. You had no clothes left 



 

Okay, considering that Sans wasn’t completely distraught you figured Papyrus was probably fine, but it was the second realization that really screwed you. 

 

There you were, in a towel, with all your clothes in the laundry. God. Fucking. Damn it. Okay, maybe Grillby was gone. You took a good thirty minute shower. He’s probably gone. Right? You really hoped so. It was bad enough you had to explain to Sans you needed clothes, but Grillby too? 

 

You nervously twisted the doorknob, closing your eyes tight and tensing all your muscles and praying to any god listening that only one skeleton was out there, until the door had fully opened. 

 

...Shit.

 

You still heard that low, similar murmur coming from downstairs. Though you never thought you’d be saying this, you really hoped he was talking to himself. 

 

You spoke in a high pitched, shaky tone. 

 

“Uh… Sans?” 

 

The murmurs stopped. There was a hesitation in his voice. 

 

“...yeah?” 

 

Well, here goes nothing.

 

“Uh. Well… I don’t… Have… any… clothes…” 

 

There was a longer silence this time. Sans let out a quick breath. ‘Leave it to ______ to find a way to make things even more weird.’  He thought. He turned to Grillby who was sitting beside the couch, looking at Sans with a raised eyebrow once more. 

 

“Alright grillbz. You know what to do?” 

 

He nodded, put on his gloves as not to burn the poor guy, threw the body on the couch over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and practically glided out the door. 

 

Sans waved to him and returned his attention to the concerned female voice upstairs. 

 

“Just… Stay up there. We’ll figure something out, don’t worry about it. You got a towel on?” 

 

“O-of course!” You stammered. He sounded a little too happy about your predicament. 

 

“That’s too bad.” He joked 

 

“Shut the fuck up and help me already!” 

 

You could hear him laugh from upstairs. Sans didn’t know why it was so damn funny, but hell, with these last few days who wouldn’t need a good laugh? His voice traveled throughout the whole house, and it was so deep you thought you were feeling it more than you were hearing it. Somehow, it made you blush a little. He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. 

 

“Alright, alright don’t get your panties in a bunch, not that you have any to wear…” 

 

“HELP ME DAMN IT.” 

 

“Sorry, it’s just so funny I can  _ bare _ -ly handle myself.” 

 

You were too embarrassed to even respond, your whole face transforming into a darker shade of pink with each footstep you heard climbing up the stairs. 

 

This was going to be a fun night. 


	14. Grey meets Grillby (pt.1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grey wakes up butt-naked in Grillby's back room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO FRIENDS! IT IS I! BLUE! HERE WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER! HAHA!. Okay but real talk, this chapter has been split up into three parts, and the next two will be uploaded daily. Please enjoy! Sorry for the late uploads recently!!

Grey woke up in a room engulfed in fire. Fortunately, he was not on fire, but he sure felt like it. His head was wrapped in bandages as well as most of his form from what he could tell, and he had a searing headache. The only redeeming part of him waking up was the surprisingly comfy couch beneath his defeated body, and a thin, patchwork blanket that was expertly laid down to cover him completely. He looked around the room a little more as his blurry vision cleared up, noticing a small woodwork desk.  
Also covered in fire. He looked around the couch and noticed that there was fire everywhere, actually. All around him. Grey sighed. 

“I always knew I'd end up in hell… Or at least, hell’s waiting room?” He laughed a little to himself, but did seriously consider whether or not he was dead. He thought back to the skeleton, the flying bones, the horrific laser heads, the skeletons face... The thought made him shiver. “‘..is this… Fear?” He thought. “Huh. That's new.” A sharp pain found its way into his ribs, in a meager attempt to sit up. Despite the flames around him, there seemed to be nothing immediately wrong with his current situation.

Until he noticed he wasn't wearing any clothes. 

Just bandages.

He had originally assumed that his clothes were so torn he would've been wearing mostly bandages anyway, but now with the blanket removed from his body he noticed there were no clothes to begin with, and he was absolutely sure he was wearing clothes before he lost sight of the world. Grey wasn't one to panic, but when waking up in an unknown place after presumably being passed out to suddenly being completely naked, there was a good reason to. 

In his panicked state the poor, naked man started frantically searching the whole room for something, any kind of indication of where he was, who the hell could be here with him, and how in the world he was going to escape. Was he still with the skeleton? The girl? Could there be someone even worse who's taken him here? Thankfully he was basically immune to fire, except that these flames didn't feel like anything. So he figured they were some kind of sick, magical decoration, and focused back to the task at hand. He scampered over to the door and shook the handle around. Shit. It was locked. He then frantically stumbled over to the desk and ravaged the drawers. There was a money box at the top that contained some sort of foreign currency, and tons of unorganized papers. Mostly unpaid bills, addressed to a man named… Grillby? 

Suddenly the door handle began to jiggle. Grey nearly leaped out of his skin in the quickest attempt possible to go back on the couch, and cover himself. As the door swiftly opened, the man had closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. Whoever was in the room, noticed immediately his now unkempt desk. The man on the couch instantly felt the regret of not cleaning the desk, sink in. “Never do research when panicking.” He made a mental note to himself. Whatever it was the thing was carrying, they put it down on top of the desk. It sounded like a platter of some sort. "Possibly surgical tools?" He thought to himself. "Clothes? Hopefully?" He felt his heart stop as he heard the footsteps grow closer to him. A sudden heat rushed over the side of his face. "Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit." Rampaged over and over in his head. It was looking at him. He had to regain his composure. Fast. If he was in fact dead, then there was a new mission of surviving hell. If he was still alive, he needed to find a way out of here in order to complete the mission he set out for himself in the first place. Either way, he needed to calm the fuck down. 

Grillby on the other hand, had to stop himself from laughing. The human was clearly very uncomfortable, and clearly very awake. He even had the gall to look through his stuff, and the stupidity to not put it away. This was the man Sans was talking about? Then again, Grillby thought, he is on copious amounts of drugs. Grillby wasn't sure how much to give him, so he just gave him a little extra just in case. 

“I know you're awake...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET SUPPEEERRR GGGAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY. (Like they haven't already)
> 
> I hope you all thoroughly enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to uploading the next few parts. *****MILD SPOILER ALERT**** This is the first gay romance I've ever written. (hint hint) I'm very excited the main character is based off my real life best friend though, because it's kinda funny.


	15. Grey meets Grillby (pt.2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby and Grey have a little conversation that leads to even more confusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALSO I COULDN'T WAIT TO POST THE SECOND PART SO I'M JUST GONNA POST IT ALL SORRY NOT SORRY   
> -BLUE

The voice bellowed in Grey’s ear, and he felt the excruciatingly hot breathe trickle down his neck. For some reason, Grey couldn't slow down his heart beat. Having calmed back down to his analytical, normal state of mind, he figured that he was on some sort of drug. This would also explain the sudden rise in emotions. Regardless, he knew he couldn't stay silent for long. Grey opened up his eyes to be face to face with, what he could only describe as a living fire monster with eyes. He couldn't deny the fire monster was attractive, in an odd way, but it wasn't the reason his heart was beating a million miles per hour. This thing, had even more magical essence than the skeleton. 

“I was never known for my acting skills.” Grey replied in his normal, matter of factly tone. To Grillby’s surprise, he responded in a very clear headed manner. 

“I'm also not known for being a very good guesser. Mind telling me who you are, where I am, and where my clothes have gone?” 

Grillby was again taken aback by Grey. (Though you'd never know it.) He thought for a moment whether or not to reply, and instead just check his bandages and leave, but if he was anything that he thought he was, he knew clothes or not the man would easily escape. He couldn't have that. 

“My name is Grillby. You're in the office behind my bar. I took off whatever was left of your clothes to properly treat your wounds. I can give you some clothes to borrow once I'm done.” 

“I can take care of myself just fine thank you very- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING.” Grey started panicking again. Grillby had begun to remove the blanket so he could check on the bandages, make sure nothing abnormal was going on, and change them. Except the human began to get very squirmy, and so it became very difficult. Grey, in a wave of anxiety slapped Grillby as hard as he could and grabbed onto the blanket for dear life. Now that the monster was away from his face, he could get a good look at him. He was well built, tall, and wore a conventional bartenders uniform. Black vest, pants, and a white collared shirt, properly tucked in. Despite having no other visible features other than his eyes, and a line for a mouth, the thing looked to be in utter shock. He stood away from him, allowing the bandages to drop to the floor. Grillby seemed paralyzed. 

“Nobody… Nobody… has been able… to touch me… Before…Without…” 

Grillby suddenly ran over to the man and grabbed one of his hands, causing Grey to leap back a little. Grillby analyzed his hands. No burn marks. 

“Just what the hell are you?” He said, in a near whisper. 

“Funny you should ask I was about to say the same thing.” Grey replied, annoyed. First this thing strips him in his sleep, and now he thinks he can just grab him whenever he feels like it? Yeah, no. He would not stand for this kind of treatment. 

“Now listen here god damn it. I refuse to be treated like some kind of sick animal in a cage. Clothes or not I will storm out of here and continue on my journey, and if I'm dead then send me straight to the last level of hell and I will deal with Satan himself.” 

The audacity. Grillby released Grey's hand, and sat in silence for a bit. Collecting himself for a response. 

“No. Leaving would be bad. Once the drugs wear off you’ll barely be able to move.” Grillby picked up the bandages and handed them to the man. 

“You've been put under my care, but go ahead and check yourself. My clothes should fit you. I'll be back soon with them. If you need anything feel free to find me, the bars closed today but I'll be out front preparing for when we open tomorrow. Please, stay, we have much to talk about.” He then got up and started to walk out the door, leaving Grey alone again in the room. 

Confused beyond belief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONE WORD: GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY 
> 
> haha but in all seriousness please never use the word gay as an insult or an unecessary adjective. Learn from my mistakes dear readers!


	16. Grey meets Grillby (pt.3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HAHA! Did I say three parts? I meant four!! WHOOPS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO. IT'S ME. I'VE BEEN WONDERING IF AFTER ALL THESE YEARS YOU REALLY LIKE THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE I'M CURIOUS. 
> 
> -Blue (SURPRISE)

“WHAT IN THE FUCK JUST TRANSPIRED HERE?!” Grey internally screamed. He had been alone for about an hour now, and as much as he knew he should escape, something about the monster made him want to say. Call it scientist's intuition or whatever, Grey just felt like he could trust him. Not to make another pun, but the monster seemed to be very warm when he thought about it. He didn’t feel the need to get the hell outta dodge, and figured this ‘Grillby’ was right anyway. Although he was basically a god at this point, there was no way he’d survive very long out there as hurt as he was. Especially if there were anymore monsters out there like that awful skeleton. He could already feel the drugs wearing off anyway, and the need to call for the mysterious fire thing now from the pain became more urgent. No matter how much he didn’t want to. Or at least, he think he didn’t? The whole situation was confusing.

Before he got the chance to call out for help, he heard the relieving sound of the door handle jiggle again. It swung open, in walking Grillby with a stack of clothes in one hand and a syringe in the other. Okay, despite regarding himself as a near god, nobody liked needles. Grey couldn’t help but cringe at the sight of it. He kept his eye on the needle as Grillby drew closer to him again. There was a purple liquid in it. A lot, of purple liquid. He continued to stare at it until Grillby spoke, putting the clothes gently beside the couch. 

“These are my clothes. They should fit good enough for now.” 

The sentence broke Grey’s gaze from the syringe to the clothes. It was a white button up shirt with black slacks and a belt.

“Is this all you wear?” He asked sarcastically. Grillby didn’t answer. 

“Not much of a talker then. Well, you could have at least included the black vest.” Grey looked at Grillby again for a response. There was none. 

“... So you’re not much of a joker either. That’s fine. I’ll put on the clothes right now, thank you very much.” Grey began to let the blanket fall, letting it stop right at his lower abdomen. Grillby seemed to be staring at him, unmoving, unfazed. The man cleared his throat. 

“I said, I’m going to be changing now.” 

Again, no response. 

“K can you leave?!” Grey spat, clearly annoyed. Grillby’s eyes darted back up from his upper body to meet his glare, upon hearing his voice raise. 

He responded. 

“I have already seen you naked, but if it’ll make you more comfortable I’ll turn around.” 

Remembering that Grillby had seen him, and inherently touched him, made him unwillingly blush. He knew it wasn’t sexual, and that he had to in order to check to make sure he’s okay. Yet, he couldn’t help it. 

“Whatever.” Grey responded, and he got up and turned around. 

Grillby wasn’t going to lie, he did find the human very, very attractive. He was smaller than him overall in build and in height. His skin looked to be very smooth, and he noticed the sharp, but delicate features of his face. The jawline, the rounded nose and hazel eyes, the sparkling, determined look he has (that Grillby found rather cute), and the way his hair messily laid just above them... He took another brief look at his back, noticing his defined shoulder blades yet overall slim look before turning around. “Just my type.” He thought. 

Still, Grillby couldn’t get over what Sans had told him. 

Grey was almost finished getting dressed. The pants were a little baggy, and he had problems putting on the shirt. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking, making buttoning up the shirt quite difficult. By now, he admitted he was in horrific pain. Barely standing as it is. Grillby noticed that it was taking a little too long for him to finish up, so he turned back around, and walked up right in front of him. Motioning for Grey to sit back down. He complied, and carefully sat on the couch as Grillby crouched down and buttoned up the shirt. “This is too much...” He thought to himself, as he slanted his head away from the monster. He was blushing again. He could feel the heat rush by his face, and a bead of sweat crawled down from his forehead to his jaw. The monster was way too close for comfort. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was, well, hot. Really. Hot. Still, he knew virtually nothing about him. 

It was safe to say they didn’t trust one another at all. 

When Grillby was done he backed away from the man, staring down at him. 

He couldn’t hold it back this time. He started cracking up. The clothes were way too big for him. The pants went far past his feet, being barely held up by the belt tightly wound around his waist, and the arms went way past his hands. Not to mention how baggy they were as well. However intimidating he might have been completely disappeared beneath the clothes. Grey was not happy. 

“Thanks for helping me out you incredible asshole.” He snapped, hiding his shock at the sudden burst of emotion. Grillby didn’t stop laughing.

“Well, whenever you’re done making fun of me, I believe we have much to discuss.” Grey added on in an increasingly annoyed tone. 

Grillby took a few seconds before calming down, regaining his original, stoic state. He went and pulled the chair from behind his desk, and sat himself directly in front of the man on the couch. 

“...Oh, and real quick,” Grey started, “You wouldn’t happen to have a shower.... Would you?” 

Grillby just raised his eyebrow. 

“I realize now what a dumb question that was, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.” Grey said, crossing his arms. It didn’t look like the monster had a nose, so hopefully he couldn’t smell him.

There was a brief moment of silence after that before Grillby spoke up. 

“How do you feel?” 

“Physically? Atrocious. Though most of the time I feel nothing. I’m numb inside.” 

Grillby just raised his brow again. His personality couldn’t have a sharper contrast with how he looks. 

“Right, Mr. Serious All the Time isn’t a fan of jokes. At least you didn’t react how the other one did.” Grey had a brief memory of the skeleton before succumbing to the pain. It had been building since Grillby walked in, and now he felt the drugs had completely worn off. 

“Funny you should mention that, I’d like to talk about what happened with Sans. But first…” Grillby pulled out the syringe, and tapped on it. 

“Give me your arm.” He commanded. Grey sat motionless, and could feel himself wanting to collapse back onto the couch. Grillby just grabbed his arm instead, and rolled up his sleeve. He could see a minor look of panic wash over Grey’s now pale face, and reassured him. 

“It won’t hurt too much. It’ll work pretty quickly too, just trust me for now.” 

“Well it’s not like I’m in any position to resist you now am I?” Grey thought bitterly, wincing at the cooling sensation running through his arm as Grillby inserted the needle into his vein, the purple liquid slowly draining to nothing. 

“Good boy.” Grillby said, as he removed his hand from his arm, gently tapping the palm of his hand. 

“Fuck off.” Grey retorted. Man, that stuff did work quickly. He could already feel his muscles begin to relax and the headache start to wane a bit. Coming back into his old self. 

He sat back up once again to meet the eyes of the monster, and the monster to meet the eyes of the human. 

“So,” Grey began, “Since you’re the one who dragged me here, I think it would be best if you started explaining what’s going on down here in this…” 

“The underground. You’re in the underground.” Grey was surprised for a second, Grillby almost never immediately responded. 

“Yes. Now. Start explaining.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soOOOO This has all basically been a little fan service. Part four will either be next orr it'll be after Grey's chapter. Depends. 
> 
> HAVE A WONDERFUL LIFE FRIENDS !! THANKS FOR READING!
> 
> -Blue


	17. Further Exposition pt. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grey tells Grillby who he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Blue here! I am so so so so sorry it took this long to post something. School just started up for me again and it's been super fucking busy. I'll try to be more regular with my posts, but thankfully Grey has the next upload. I hope you enjoy where we're going with the plot! 
> 
>  
> 
> (P.s In unrelated news I created a tumblr for my poetry. I would appreciate it if you guys checked that out sometime, but if not that's cool. My username is bluedoespoetry. Here's the link! https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bluedoespoetry
> 
> Thank you for your time and consideration)

Grillby hesitated for a moment. He knew that this man wouldn’t speak unless he got answers. 

“First,” Grillby began, “What’s your name?” 

The scientist was a little surprised at this, though showed no outward emotion. 

“Grey.” 

“Nice. I’m Grillby.” 

“I know that already.”

… 

“...You must’ve been popular in school with that attitude.” 

“Shut up you walking talking hazard. Were you even allowed in school?”

“..Would you rather hear about my tragic childhood or the important stuff?”

Grey huffed.

“Just start talking already.” 

Grillby chuckled. What an obstinate human. Lucky for him, he didn’t get irritated easily, but he could see why Sans would want to kick his ass. 

“I tell you all the ‘important stuff’ about me, you tell me the important stuff about you. Deal?” 

“Fine with me.” 

They analyzed one another for a brief moment. As far as they were concerned, they both knew they had every reason to lie, and every reason not to. At this point, Grey knew that lying would get him nowhere, and Grillby was an honorable person. So, he began his story, 

“I’ve been alive for a while now. I’ve run this bar, Grillby’s, since we got to the Underground.”

Grey quickly interrupted.

“You named the bar after yourself?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“No reason… Well… You just… Couldn’t think of any cooler names?” 

“My name is cool enough.” 

“Yeah but I can think of way cooler ones.”

Grillby stopped and raised his brow again. Sometimes Grey could be a little too, argumentative… Although he got a little flustered at this realization, Grillby kept a mental note that he would ask the human for these names later. 

“Sorry continue.” 

“...Anyway… You’re in the back of the bar in the office. This is where I do all my taxes, change my clothes, all that.” 

“Wait a second.” Grey interjected once again. “Do you have a house?” 

“This is my home.” Grillby replied matter of factly. 

“So, you live here… ?” 

“Yeah.” 

“This is the only room you have?”

“Yes…” 

“So you sleep here? On this couch?” 

Grillby raised another nonexistent eyebrow. The topic of sleep greatly confused him.

“...Sleep? That, human thing?” 

“Oh my god.” 

“Are you going to continue to interrupt me?” 

“My fault… continue.” 

“Where did I leave off? Oh yeah. I forgot. This whole place is called the Underground. There are a few sections here, we got; Waterfall, Hotland, the Core, The Ruins, and Asgore’s castle. There’s a lot to tell about each place, but for the sake of time I’ll just tell you the brief history of how monsters got here. You know, we weren’t born here. Not a lot of monsters remember, and even less lived to tell the tale.” At this point Grillby looked down. The scientists knew this must be a painful memory. 

“At one point… us monsters… lived… on the surface.” Grillby paused for a second to let the drama sink in, and looked back up to see the shock on the man’s face. In his mind, this was the part where everything went “dun dun DUUNNNN”, like they did in the old movies. Grey was unamused. 

“Yeah I know that.” 

“...What?” 

“I know about how the monsters lived on the surface. I know where I am.” 

“You know about the monster war?” 

“Yup. It’s taught in history classes at schools.”

“You know about the magic?” 

“Yup.” 

Grillby paused for another second. The fire that was his head began to slither up to the ceiling. 

“Fuck”, Grey thought. 

“THEN WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU FOR IF YOU ALREADY KNEW EVERYTHING.” The whole bar shook with the boom of the monsters voice. 

“This is quite a different side of you.”

“DON’T CHANGE THE SUBJECT.” 

“Well, I just wanted to be sure I was in fact in the correct underground.” 

Grillby began to calm down a bit, and he regained his normal size. 

“Just who the hell are you?” He said in a near whisper. 

“I’ll tell you when you’re done telling me what I need to know.” 

Grillby stopped for a second. 

“Listen, how about you tell me who you are first. Since you keep interrupting me, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to tell you, it might be more efficient that way.” 

There was a moment of silence. Grey’s mind was going a million miles an hour. He looked genuinely curious, not curious as if he had someone to tell. Curious just for the sake of knowing, his own satisfaction, and maybe, just maybe, so he could help out. There was the possibility he was getting it confused with the look of desperation, which was dangerous. Either way, telling him was daring whether or not Grillby gave him the full backstory to begin with. He knew he couldn’t just kill him. No. Not at the risk of the skeleton coming to get his revenge. Lying wasn’t anywhere near as risky, but if there was a chance that he could get information, hell, why not. “If I die, at least I’ll die the same way I lived, flaming.” He thought. 

“First,” He said in a sing song tone. 

“Give me your hand.” 

Grillby paused for a brief second, and slowly reached out his hand towards him. Grey grabbed it. His eyes turned red out of nowhere, and a malicious smiled creeped across his face. 

“Heh. Try not to move.” 

Grillby was horrified, he was so taken aback that he didn’t move fast enough, but it was too late. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak. For the first time in hundreds of years he felt genuine fear come over him. Grey gave out a low, gravelly laugh. 

“Didn’t see that one comin, did ya? Heh. Heh.” 

Silence. 

“Oh that’s right! I’m controlling your thoughts and actions! Whoops! My fault… Heh. Check out what else I can do.” 

Suddenly Grillby’s arm began to twist, he wanted to scream but, he couldn’t. Grey felt the adrenaline pump throughout the monster’s body.

Fear. So much fear. 

Intoxication. So… Intoxicating… What a rush. What a feeling. What a time to be alive! Haha!! HA! HA! Look at him! The pooorrrr creature can’t even scream! What a look… who knew that fire monsters- 

-No. Grey could feel himself losing control. There was a reason why he never used to lock into living creatures. He never quite… Got it right… 

Using all the will he could muster he pulled his hand away from Grillby’s. Grillby started panting… 

 

Fuck. Not again. 

 

The monster expanded his whole body to fill the room. There was just… eyes… all he could see was fire. It almost burned his skin… God… It was so hot he thought his body was going to melt. He looked down to see his skin bubbling. Grey started to panic as the searing pain set in. 

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. 

“Listen, I’m sorry. You wouldn’t believe me if I didn’t show you first!” 

It didn’t stop. The room kept getting hotter. 

“LISTEN. I DID IT FOR A GOOD REASON PLEASE. CALM DOWN.” 

Hotter. 

 

“IF YOU KILL ME NOW YOU’LL NEVER KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO W.D GASTER” 

The fire stopped growing. That seemed to get through to him. In a sudden whirlwind the fire disappeared, and the door outside slammed. Mere seconds later the monster came back. For somebody without a facial expression, he sure looked pissed as all hell. 

Grey’s skin was all blistered. His face was disgustingly red and disfigured, it was hard for Grillby to look at… For the short time that it looked like that. He immediately began to rejuvenate himself. His skin tone went back to normal, his face went back to normal. Everything seemed fine. 

That pissed Grillby off more than anything. 

“I… I know you’re confused… and angry… but just… trust me… that was the best way to get you to realize the weight of who you’re dealing with.” 

Grillby said nothing. 

“Allow me to explain. I’m a scientist from the first dimension. This Underground that we’re in is the first dimension Underground as well, or at least, it should be. You see, I’ve been studying different kinds of science for hundreds and hundreds of years. I first started out with biology. I wanted to find the key to immortality, or at least extending the human life. I realized there was a way for cells to regenerate themselves, so I did what all scientists would do and fucked with my own genome and I haven’t gotten sick since. But… I didn’t stop there. I was young, and I got a little selfish. I started doing more experiments on myself, this time by studying the brain. You see there’s a part of the brain that reprograms cells. The brain… The brain can do just about anything. When I reprogrammed the cell the brain started recopying that cell because it ultimately controlled its mechanisms. That was the trick. So… I thought I could give myself super powers. Long story short, I started studying telepathy and the brains of bees and after thousands of mice and ninety two years later, I gave myself a super power. I can now control the advancement of my cells at will. Including the ability to control other people’s cells. I can keep myself from feeling pain to some extent, I can breathe underwater, read minds, you name it. The only reason why I didn’t heal myself immediately was because of the magic in Sans attacks. Fortunately for me you’re half magic and half fire for the most part. So you’re attacks weren’t as effective. Still would’ve killed me, but it would’ve taken a little longer. Now… the skeleton… is almost totally made of magic. That’s why his attacks had such an effect on me. If I wasn’t so determined to find out what’s going on here, I would’ve been happy to finally meet the sweet embrace of death. I can tell my cells to do just about anything except self destruct, the body craves life, and there’s not much to do about that.” 

Grey looked down for a brief moment, before continuing.

“… And there’s also something… else… that happened... when my powers came along. I… Don’t what to call it, but, there’s a separate part of me now. It got stronger the stronger I did. It’s like the manifestation of the primitive part of the brain. It wants power, destruction... a real chaotic evil. Sometimes I lose control of it, sometimes I don’t. It’s always a big risk, and I think, when it saw that you were so powerful you posed a threat to it. I should’ve known it would’ve come out, but, I decided to do it anyway. I almost lost control of myself there… I’m sorry.” 

Grey looked at Grillby for any kind of reaction.  
Grillby sat in silence. 

“Yeah… I don’t blame you buddy. Well, at least I’ll let you know that that is the extent of my power.” 

Grillby looked a little less angry. Still silence. 

A little white lie wouldn’t hurt, right? 

“Okay… Well… Anyway… After the super powers debacle I started to notice the years go by more and more. I started to have nightly existential crises, I couldn’t take it. There seemed to be no meaning in life and if there was it sure as hell wasn’t here. I started researching time and space and alternate dimensions… All of it. Then I noticed something. Up on the surface world, there’s a book written entirely in wing dings, it’s the diary of the famous scientist W.D Gaster. The book pre-dates the war, and it was found when humans began raiding monster civilizations. In the diary are ramblings about alternate dimensions and time travel, and in the human world it’s known as one of the greatest works in scientific history. It was the pinnacle in time travel studies. Of course, nobody’s successfully done it yet, but people have proven some of his theories such as the ability to time travel, alternate dimensions, and more importantly the void. W.D Gaster, before any of us humans figured it out, theorized that in between dimensions and time and space is this void. This vacuum. It’s like a black hole, except there’s no other side. It’s the alternate dimension in between alternate dimensions, and it’s said that in there anything is possible. It’s a complete paradox. Since there’s nothing, there’s everything.  
After a hundred years since the monster war, the government planned a mission to go down into the Underground to try and find W.D Gaster and make peace with the monsters. Except when they got down there, there was nothing. It was just a hollowed out cave. Nobody knows what happened to the monsters, and in my dimension, there hasn’t been a trace of them. We think that somehow, W.D. Gaster moved the Underground to a different dimension. Why? We have no idea. Well, I have an idea but it’s not proven. Even more so, soon after that, there have been little blips in dimensions. New ones keep creating.   
I-I found this out one day when I went to Mount Ebott myself. Back where I live, it’s a huge tourist attraction. I looked around there, and locked into a tree. The trees… They had no memory of monsters moving into Mount Ebott. Whatever happened, it completely erased the memory of them ever being there. The only reason why I even know about the monster war is because we have written records of it, and we’re so far ahead in time no human being can say it didn’t happen because no human being was alive to say so or not. My confusion grew so much so, I went and hacked into the satellite system at NASA. I wired into a government satellite and watched the energy reading, and I noticed so often there was a tiny blip. Not enough for the average, NASA sucker to notice, but there was one. Normally we check the energy reading on a satellite to see if there’s any new sign of life coming into Earth’s orbit, or if there’s a sign that the Sun’s about to explode, check for global climate change, just a basic reading. Everything seemed normal except for that. It came pretty frequently and sporadically, just a tiny little spike in the line to represent the vacuum of space. I didn’t know what it was, until I read more into alternate dimensions. In order for a portal to be created into an alternate dimension, there would need to be a mass amount of energy in order to create that tear in time in space, not enough energy to effect the energy in space, but enough to throw magnetic fields for a loop. So imagine if an entire dimension was created. The energy would have to be so magnificent that it would ripple throughout the entirety of space. Think about it, if a satellite can’t detect a black hole, since black holes are trillions of miles away, imagine how large of a ripple that energy spark would have to be for the satellite to even detect it as it runs through all of space. Pretty large, huh? So that got me thinking. A lot.   
I thought that maybe the blips were a new dimension being created, so I watched the blips religiously.   
Until one day, that minuscule spike didn’t appear. It all just stopped. I didn’t know what happened, I thought maybe I was losing my mind. That the spike was never there to begin with, that I was just looking for a reason to theorize. I was so distraught, that I decided the only way to go there was to go to Mount Ebott and pray it would take me to the Underground. So, I went up there, and fell fifteen seconds before the blip would normally happen. I ended up falling into a flower bed. I looked around, and saw what looked to be an endless cave. I stared up at the stars, and realized I was somewhere else. The stars were in a different position than they were when I fell. Then, the goat woman appeared. Toriel. She took me through what she calls The Ruins. She made me become friends with some frogs, and made me a pie, she was a truly kind hearted woman. I respected her greatly. She was always so sad though… I do miss her sometimes… But more importantly I found the tree of all trees. It was in the middle of The Ruins and it was the first tree in the underground. It’s roots are connected to every single part of the Underground, so it could see everything. I used to sneak out in the middle of the night, and lock into it. I went through hours and hours, watching the timeline of the beginning of the Underground. I noticed two things, 1.) there was a small androgynous child that passed through there multiple times. I believe they are the anomaly. 2.) After the kids arrived, there were blank spaces in between every event, so it was more like looking at snapshots rather than a fluid event. 3.) In none of the snapshots was there W.D Gaster 4.) The timeline kept resetting. I watched the same thing happen over and over again, slightly differently each time. That is, until I saw the girl pass through here. She’s in our current time.   
While I was watching though, I saw everything. I saw you, the skeletons, Asgore, the little flower shit that appears every so often, but I don’t know who you are. I’ve just seen you. Everything came in pictures, conversations, battles, I never truly saw them. I looked through a million different pictures until I got to our current time, and I’ve developed a theory.   
W.D Gaster was erased from time and space. The reason there are alternate dimensions is because there are unlimited possibilities, and nothing can be the same. In order for all these dimensions to be created, W.D Gaster would have had to have done the exact same thing over and over again, and there can’t be sameness in any dimensions. They all have to have slight differentiations, but there can’t be a slight differentiation in Gaster's work or else the dimension wouldn’t have moved. So time, erased him. It took him to the void, where everything, including limited possibilities, is possible. Yet because alternate dimensions were already happening, there had to be another anomaly, the child. They kept creating new dimensions, and because this is the original dimension, time here would have to reset so time can accommodate to the new dimension it has to create. Until the one thing happened science has yet to explain, coincidence. When the girl fell here, the alternate dimensions stopped creating. And two things can happen, 1.) Alternate dimensions stop and we are the last two humans to ever come down here 2.) People keep falling down here and too many dimensions for time to keep up with are created. 

And that’s why I’m here. To find W.D Gaster, find out why time only resets here in this dimension, to find the true answer to how time works, and to collapse all the dimensions back to one possibility to keep from total annihilation.” 

 

Grey sat and analyzed Grillby’s facial expression. 

 

 

Grillby sat in silence. 

 

Until- 

“How do you know about Gaster?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay !!! Sorry for the shameless plug in the beginning notes but whatever. I created that account today so I'm excited about it! Also Grey drew my profile picture so it's great. Also I hope you liked the newer sides of Grillby's character! I hope to build on it in the later chapters.
> 
> But on a more serious note, 
> 
> I know I've said in the past I would come back to Grey's original character set up in the beginning of the story. After some thought, I've decided I will not do that. I believe I've tied up any loose ends in terms of how he was presented at the beginning, but I will not resort to that character. The reasoning behind it is that I feel it would be wrong to portray my best friend as someone he is not. While I understand where the girls were coming from, I don't believe romanticizing a person's personality is a way to compliment someone. Personally, I think it's very insulting. If you're going to write about someone, write about them as they are. Grey is smart, funny, and cynical. Those are all of the things that I think make Grey great. So I've decided to try and portray my friend with the most accuracy possible, because that's what friends do. 
> 
> Anyway, rant over. Have a wonderful day readers and I hope you stay tuned for next chapter. :) 
> 
> -Blue


	18. Shopping with Humor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~ Grey here,   
> Blue has started school again so I know they're super busy, and I've started both work and school, so while my classes are online stuff is still super hectic. I am going to be writing more chapters, Blue has been filling in for me a lot so I thank them for that, but I will be contributing more. They just might be a tad shorter because I'm pressed for time. Other than that I was wondering if you all would be interested in having some imagery to go along with some parts of the story? I'm an artist so some scenes I'd totally love to draw, just let me know in the comments if that sounds like something you'd be into. Anddddd that's all for now, I'll be uploading the next part of this soon! Also look forward to Blue's next installment of whatever is going on between Grillby and uh...other Grey..   
> Yup! Hope you enjoy!

You unhooked your new bra, feeling the soft click of the opening latch against your back, the straps slid slowly down your shoulders and to your forearms. The air felt cold against your newly revealed skin and your breath hitched. Goosebumps began to gather along your torso, arms, and neck...had the room gotten colder? You moved gently, careful not to tear any of the remaining clothes on your body, and began to slide down your sweatpants. Further...further...and further...

 

 

_**"You doin' okay in there?"** _

 

 

The question made you jump and center back on reality.

Right, you were in some kind of department store in Hotland. The fitting room must have gotten colder because of the air conditioning.

 

...You had asked Sans when you first entered why the store was so cold, apparently Hotland is sweltering and indoor temperatures need to stay low so that the monsters who are visiting can actually visit.

Sadly you hadn't actually gotten to go outside, after he had teased you about having no clothes from your shower he'd grabbed a hoodie and some shorts and handed them to you through the door. 

Grillby left with the strange man slung over his shoulder while Sans was talking to you, and you could have sworn from over the stairs that you saw a smirk on Grillby's face as he walked the body out the door. 

 

After the man of fire had left, and you had put on Sans' clothing (albeit quite awkwardly) Sans decided it was time to take you shopping. He had saved up some money from selling hotdogs (okay a lot of money) and could see that you very clearly needed new _and more_ clothes. 

 

And that's how you ended up here, after one fast and semi-gut wrenching teleport with Sans.

* * *

You quickly put Sans' clothes back on and walked out of the fitting room after having tried on a few of the "stay at home" outfits he had picked. 

 

"Yeah...um, I'm fine." 

 

You looked up, catching you own reflection in a mirror all the way across the store.

 

 

Your cheeks were red.

 

* * *

 

 

Sans seemed to have his own ideas of what you should wear. Unsurprisingly as you walked through the aisles he threw any sweatpants, gym shorts, plain t-shirts, and sweaters he could find in your size in the cart. Occasionally some things had to be put back after you realized multiple items had holes for tails, ears, fins, and extra arms/legs in them. The variety of the store left you in awe, walking each aisle you noticed how many different shapes and sizes some of the same clothing articles came in.  _Man, if only stores back home had this much variety...a size 2 doesn't fit everyone!_

After a decent sized pile of "comfortable" clothing had formed in the cart you decided it was time that you stepped in. "Hey, um, Sans?" 

He turned to you with a lazy smile, "Hmm? What's up?" 

Your face felt hot. "I uh, was wondering if I could pick out some things that are more...oh, I don't know, my style?" 

His eye sockets widened and a soft blue color began to spread along his nasal bones and cheeks. The small lights that made up his eyes glanced from the pile to your face and the color seemed to deepen. He had finally realized what he was doing. 

"Oh! I-I! Yes! Absolutely! Pick whatever you want!" He turned his head and averted his gaze quickly. 

You cleared your throat, this situation seemed a bit awkward, breaking the tension might be a good idea.

"I'm going to look in the jeans aisle, is that okay?"  _Maybe just getting away from the situation is good enough._

He turned back to you, any trace of nervousness or tension gone. 

He casually lifted a hanger up next to him.

You started to fidget, he hadn't answered your question and he suddenly seemed so serious, what was going on?

 

"I need you to  _hang on_ for a sec." 

 

You started walking away, the jean aisle was near the entrance if you remembered correctly....

 

 

"No, w-wait! Seriously!"

 

Sans' voice was growing more distant. 

 

 

**"I SAID WAIT!"**

 

**B A N G**

 

"OW OW OW!!" You clutched your forehead and knelt on the ground in pain. 

 

"Ugh, see? This wouldn't have happened if you had just waited like I asked." Sans was looking down at you, his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. You must have hit your head on his when he'd teleported in front of you.

He knocked his fist on his skull a couple times, "Hard head, doesn't fell so good on a soft one I'd imagine." 

 

"Sans,  _what the fuck-" "Look, I told you to wait and you weren't listening, I had to catch up to you somehow._ I can't have you running off. This isn't exactly the safest place okay? Undyne doesn't come here because it's too hot with her armor, but we're right by the palace and Mettaton has his show just in the other building!" 

You stood up, still clutching your forehead, "Who the fuck is Mettaton?" 

Just then the department doors slammed open, a blinding light escaping them and entering the door. What sounded like camera shutters going off and cheering started to form on the other side. Sans tensed in font of you, and you could swear you heard a " _shit"_ come out from under his breath.

"Sans, what's happen-"

 

**_"HELLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ~ ~ DARLING ~ "_ **

 

You swore under your breathe,

_"Shit."_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there hasn't been to much character x sans, but it's getting there, I promise! Next few chapters by me are gonna focus on that and some other stuff, but there will def be more interaction between reader and Sans so look forward to it! :) As always thank you all for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm totally open and willing to listen and adjust, so if you guys have any suggestions please, let me here them! Sorry about any errors as well, this story is originally by me, Grey, but because I'm busy and updating regularly is difficult I've recruited three friends, Claudia, Makenna, and Alleyah to help write. Chapters they write will be labeled and i'm sure they'll leave you all very colorful commentary. If you enjoy this story it would mean a lot to us if you let us know. Having positive feedback makes our hardwork feel worth it and motivates us to write more. Thanks a lot everyone, we hope you enjoy :)


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